A hunter's prey
by Filia Noctis
Summary: After escaping the marriage that would soon take place Mira ends up in Skyrim, hoping that she could become one of the legends her father had always told her about. But her plans are forced to change when Hircine, the Daedric Prince of the hunt, chooses her as his champion and this time Mira can't escape whatever fate awaits her.
1. On the run

**A/N This story will be following questlines from Skyrim, the first chapter is for the most part just what happened at Helgen, because I suck at starting stories and that seemed a good start. So if you don't want to read that you can skip it, you really don't miss anything.  
I've written the first two chapters half a year ago and I only checked spelling/grammar mistakes so if those chapters suck I'm sorry for that. I would like to hear feedback, but if you tell me what you think should be improved I would love to hear how it could be improved too (just '*insert sucky part here* sucks' doesn't really help me any further). If you don't like how I write my story or what I write you're not forced to read it, and if you only review the story to tell that I politely ask you to shut the **** up, thank you.  
Enjoy the story (or not).**

* * *

Mira was born and raised in her family's farm just outside the Imperial city; the place had always made her feel safe. She was raised by a loving mother, a Breton, who used to sing for her, it was also her mother who had found a mage to teach Mira about magic, but that had been later, when Mira was old enough to understand the responsibility that came with the ability to use such a power.

Mira's father was a Nord, he used to work on the land during the days, but when he came home every evening he told the greatest stories of heroes, warriors and the Nord divines. He also told Mira about Skyrim, his homeland. It was because of him that Mira got interested in learning about weapons and combat and although her mother thought girls should not know how to handle weapons her father had taught her the basics. He had made sure to teach Mira enough to be sure she could defend herself, but not enough to make her stand a chance against a trained warrior.

As a child Mira enjoyed her life at the farm and she spend the time dreaming of hunting for long lost, legendary treasures and fighting in battles so important that people would write songs about it. But as time passed Mira learned what was expected from her and although she did not like it, she knew that there was no way of escaping it. In time the child grew up to be a beautiful young woman, but beauty was not the only thing she was gifted with; Mira was as smart and strong as she was beautiful and by the time she was fifteen her parents were no longer the only people who were aware of that. Maybe the fact that she had started studying magic at that age was the reason that things happened like they happened, or perhaps it was destiny, but Mira would not yet understand that for a long time.

The beauty that her parents had always considered a blessing turned out to be a curse to Mira when one of the nobleman from the Imperial City asked to marry her. No matter how much Mira and her parents hated it, they knew they could not refuse without being sent away. But while her parents were getting ready to celebrate a marriage, Mira had plans of her own. As young as she was Mira still fully understood that there would no longer be a chance to see Skyrim or learn about magic once she was married and those were exactly the things that she wanted to do. She knew that she was not ready to settle down and lead a calm life with a family and children of her own yet, because even though she now understood what was expected of her she still longed for freedom and adventure.

* * *

Mira left the family's farm in the middle of the night exactly two weeks before her sixteenth birthday and the day of the marriage; she took nothing but the clothes she was wearing, some bread, cheese and 50 septims. She had no way to defend herself, or survive in general, but the spells she had learned before she left; flames and healing.

On the second day of her journey a horse crossed Mira's path. There was no owner with the animal, so Mira figured the owner was probably lost or dead. She took the animal with her for the rest of her journey to Skyrim.

While she traveled north she noticed how it started to get colder to a point where her clothes barely warmed her enough to keep her comfortable. It was then that Mira was happy that her father was a Nord, because she started to realize that his resistance to cold was in her blood too. She also had his blue eyes, but her dark hair came from her mother and her length was closer the length of a Breton than a Nord, although she was slightly taller than her mother.

The time that passed between the moment that she left her home and the point that she reached the other side of the mountains was just a little more than seven days. It surprised Mira that she had managed to travel so fast and she was happy about the fact that the Imperials could not take her away from her, but that was only until she realized that she had no idea where she should go next. At the moment she realized that she became aware of voices ahead. She followed the sound of the voices and that was the last thing she remembered…

* * *

The sound of horses was the first thing Mira became aware of. A carriage, she thought, but why? She opened her eyes to see a man in Imperial armor in the front of the carriage. When she tried to sit up Mira realized that her hands were bound together and she muttered a curse. Why was she here, in a carriage from the Imperials, with her hands bound? Surely that wasn't how they brought back girls who ran away from home… right? Mira looked at the other people in the carriage; three male Nords, all of them had bound hands and one man was gagged. Why was she here with those people? Who were those people anyway?

"Hey you," the man who was sitting on the other side of the carriage said. "You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us… and that thief over there," he added looking at the dark haired man that was sitting next to him.

"Damn you, Stormcloaks," the thief said. "Skyrim was fine until you came along; the Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you I'd stolen that horse and I had been halfway to Hammerfell by now," he turned to Mira. "You there, you and me, we're not supposed to be here. It's the Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," the other Nord said hatefully.

"Shut up back there," the Imperial soldier yelled.

"What's wrong with him, huh?" the thief asked, looking at the gagged man.

"Watch your tongue, you're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak; the true High King."

"Ulfric, the jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they captured you… oh gods, where are they taking us?" Mira heard the fear in the man's voice, but somehow she wasn't scared. Perhaps it was because she did not yet fully understand, or rather believe, that she really was in danger, or maybe it was because she knew that if she was really going to die she would die knowing that she had seen more of Tamriel than only the Imperial City.

"I don't know where they're taking us, but Sovengarde awaits," the Nord said.

Sovengarde… Mira had heard stories from her father when she was younger. Those stories had made death seem like a beautiful, honorable thing and something to look forward to rather than something to fear. Mira had always hoped to see the place, but she knew that if it existed at all there was no way for her to go there, because it was where warriors went when they died and she was not a warrior.

"For you, perhaps," Mira said. She sighed. "But I am neither a warrior, nor a hero. Well, at least I'll die in my father's homeland that I too have always called my home, even though I see it for the first time now."

To Mira's surprise the Nord laughed. "A true Nord, from what I hear. Shame that we met like this, I would have liked you."

Mira smirked. "Isn't dying together way more… interesting."

The Nord nodded, before turning to the man next to him. "Where are you from, thief?"

"Why would you care?"

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home."

"Rorikstead," the thief said. "I'm from Rorikstead."

At that moment the carriage entered a village and Mira heard the Nord say something about Helgen. "Is this Helgen?" Mira asked.

The Nord nodded. "End of the ride," he said when the carriage stopped.

"No, this is a mistake," the thief said. "You have to tell them we weren't with you."

The Imperial soldiers started calling out the names of people that had to step forward. "Ulfric Stormcloak, jarl of Windhelm… Ralof of Riverwood," the Nord Mira had been talking to in the carriage stepped forward. Mira waited until the Imperial soldiers were finished calling out all the names before she was finally told to come forward.

"Wait, you there, step forward," the man who had been calling out names said.

Mira stepped forward like she was told to and while Mira did so she lifted her head and looked the soldier dead in the eye.

She was pleased to see his expression shift to surprise and then to something that could have been respect. "Who are you?"

"I am Mira. Until recently I called my family's farm just outside the Imperial city my home. My father was a Nord and my mother was a Breton, but I identify myself as a Nord, thus the reason that I came to Skyrim."

The soldier sighed. "You picked a bad time to come home to Skyrim then. Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list."

The woman that stood next to the man looked at the soldier in disapproval. "Forget the list, she goes to the block."

"By your orders, captain," the soldier turned to Mira. "I'm sorry, at least you'll die here; in your homeland."

Mira simply nodded when she was told to follow the captain and she did so with her head still high; like she wasn't scared. When she looked at the crowd she realized that one of the people who had been in the carriage with her, his name was Ulfric Stormcloak if she remembered it right, was looking at her. She stared back at him until the captain called for everyone's attention.

From somewhere far away a roar was heard, but the Imperial soldiers shrugged it off and the first person was called to the block. Mira flinched when the axe separated the man's head from his body, but that was the only sign that showed how she felt about the situation. Then they called her forward, to the block and at the same moment another roar tore through the sky.

Mira kneeled down in front of the block, trying to ignore the smell of fresh blood and the head in the box in front of her. She was suddenly glad that she had run out of food a day ago, now she could at least keep up the act of confidence. At the moment that the axe was lifted the ground beneath them shook and a huge black beast landed on top of the tower. The beast opened its mouth and an invisible force hit the men standing closest to the tower. The dragon opened its mouth again and this time the force hit Mira, but although the world around her got blurry and the force knocked her to her knees she didn't pass out like the other people who had been hit by whatever it was that the dragon used. Mira blinked in an attempt to make her vision go back to normal, but it didn't work.

"Come on, the guards won't give us another chance," someone yelled at her. When she lifted her head Mira recognized the Nord, the guards had called him Ralof, who had been in the carriage with her. He held his hand out to Mira, who got up and made her way to him, gladly accepting his offer to take her away from the now burning village. When Mira took Ralof's hand he guided her to the entrance of one of the towers of the city.

"Wait," Mira said once they were inside. "I need a moment to fix whatever that thing did to my vision." She concentrated on the healing spell that she had learned and once she felt the familiar warmth and strength of it flow through her body she pressed her hands against her closed eyes. She slowly moved her hands to her forehead and then to the side of her head before she finally quit casting the healing spell and opened her eyes. To her surprise there were other people in the tower; they were wearing the same armor as Ralof and all people in the tower but one appeared to be wounded. The only person who seemed to be perfectly fine was the man who had been called Ulfric Stormcloak.

"Jarl Ulfric," Ralof said. "Could the legends be true?"

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric answered. The sound of his voice somehow made Mira feel very uncomfortable and yet there was nothing strange about it, or maybe it was not his voice, but simply his very being. He seemed to radiate a power that Mira had never felt before, not even around the powerful mage that had taught her about magic during the two months before she ran away.

Mira kneeled down next to one of the wounded soldiers and started trying to focus the healing spell on the soldier instead of on herself, but she lost her concentration when she felt a hand on her shoulder. When Mira looked up Ulfric slowly shook his head before removing his hand from Mira's shoulder.

"I can help them," Mira said. "Let me help them."

"You will need that for yourself if you ever want to get out of here alive, girl," Ulfric answered, but although he said it like it was the only right thing to do Mira saw sadness in his eyes and she realized that he hated leaving those people helpless as much as she did.

Ralof ran toward the stairs, where he looked back at Mira. "Follow me; we're getting out of here."

Mira ran after Ralof until they found a place where part of the tower's stone wall was missing, most likely because the dragon had destroyed it.

"See that inn over there? Jump through the roof and keep going. We'll follow when we can."

Mira gasped. "I'm supposed to jump… from here?"

"Yes, unless you want to die, of course," Ralof said simply.

Mira could not seem to get rid of the thought that jumping would kill her too, but she realized that Ralof was right, so she jumped. The landing hurt, but it had not killed Mira and she could walk, so she figured she was all right for the moment. Mira walked down the stairs and out of the inn, only to find out that the city was in a worse state than she had thought it would be, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment.

The man who had been checking the names of the prisoners was talking to a boy. "You're doing great, come over here now," the man ordered one of his soldiers to get the boy to safety and then he turned to Mira. "Still alive, prisoner? Stay close to me if you want to stay that way."

Realizing that she didn't have much of a choice Mira followed the man through the burning city. She was getting ready to run to the next building when she got pulled back and pressed against a stone wall.

"Stay close to the wall," the soldier said just moments before the dragon landed on the wall next to them.

From where they were standing Mira could finally see how big the thing really was. "By the nine…" she whispered while she studied the way the dragon sat on the wall, using his wings to support his upper body while he breathed fire across the city. It was in this very moment that Mira realized that she adored the animal's beauty just as much as she feared its power and she didn't just adore the dragon; she wanted to be it.

"Come on, we have to keep moving."

The soldier's words brought Mira back to reality and she followed him to the next building that offered them cover. The smell of burning flesh had started to fill the city. Burning human flesh, Mira thought. She was starting to feel sick. At that moment she almost literally ran into Ralof. The Nord turned to grab her arm and turned to the soldier that had helped Mira survive since she had jumped from the tower. "We're escaping, Hadvar, and you're not gonna stop us now."

"Fine," the soldier, Hadvar, yelled. "I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovengarde." Hadvar turned to Mira who was now getting dragged along by Ralof. "Stay safe," he said.

"You too," Mira answered before turning around to follow Ralof into the only building that was not on fire… yet.

They found a dead body in the tower, the trail of blood leading from the door to the body indicated that the person had successfully escaped the danger of the city, only to die after all. Ralof kneeled down next to the body. "May we meet again in Sovengarde, brother," he whispered before turning to Mira. "Looks like we are the only ones who made it, just let me get those bindings off you, then we should get moving. Take Gunjar's gear; he won't need it anymore."

Mira started taking the gear of the dead body, disturbed by the fact that she was stealing from a dead person, so instead of focusing too much on what she was doing she thought about the people she had left behind in the tower. "What about that guy, Ulfric, is he also…" Mira couldn't finish the sentence, she had thought about death too much already that day.

"I have not seen him again, but I refuse to believe he's dead," Ralof said. He had started to look for a way out of the room while Mira had started to change her clothes, which left the girl wondering whether he was just being polite or that he really didn't care about looking at her with that intention. Mira hoped for the last option; after all a man's attention was why she had left her home in the first place.

Ralof hit the wooden gate. "There's no way out of here."

At that moment voices in the hall captured the attention of both the Nord and Mira. "Who's that?" Mira whispered.

"Imperials," Ralof hissed. "Get your weapons ready."

Mira took the axe of the dead soldier in her hand, silently praying for at least a little bit of luck during this journey; axes had never been her strongest point, in her opinion they were too heavy, too big and they swung too slow. To make up for the bad weapon she focused her energy on the palm of her left hand to create a flame there.

Once the gate was fully open Mira aimed for the first person, ignoring the person's screams; she had recognized this person as the captain who had ordered her execution, so there was no reason to feel sorry for the woman. When the screams started to fade Mira swung the axe at the captain's neck to end her life. Ralof had already finished the man and he seemed ready to leave.

"Just give me a minute," Mira said. "I think this armor will fit me better than your friend's and- Oh, that's sweet, this should be the key of that door. Why don't you try it out?" She tossed they key at Ralof and started putting the captain's armor on. The woman's armor was much smaller than what Ralof had told Mira to wear and it fit her just right. After picking up the one-handed swords of the captain and the soldier Mira followed Ralof into the next room.

In one of the next rooms Mira picked up a couple of potions and some bread, eggs and salt. They continued their way until they found two Stormcloak soldiers in what looked like the torture room of the village. Mira grabbed a book, potion and a few lockpicks that were lying around.

"See if you can open that cage," Ralof said. "There might be some useful things inside."

Mira walked over to the cage and started messing around with the lock until it made a clicking sound and opened. Mira took the gold, potion and enchanted satchel of the mage's corpse. "It looks like we're ready to leave this place for good now."

Most of the journey through the dungeons that quickly made place for natural caves was very uneventful; it was dark and quiet and there were no encounters with any hostile creatures until they came close to their way out.

Ralof had stopped Mira and pointed out the animal that was asleep in the middle of the cave that had become amazingly wide and high at that place. "Let's sneak past it," he has said. "Unless you are feeling lucky and want to give this a try," and with those words he had handed Mira a bow and a few arrows.

Bows had always been Mira's favorite weapons so instead of sneaking past the animal she had sneaked only as close as she had to go to get a good view on its head. She had readied the arrow, aimed for the animal's forehead and then she had released the arrow. It pierced the animal's skull with ease and Mira realized the animal was dead when it neither looked up nor moved.

"Nice shot," Ralof said.

"Thanks," Mira answered. "We should be close to the way out now; bears never go too deep into caves."


	2. The value of a friend

Mira was glad to finally breathe in fresh air again after spending hours underground after escaping the burning village.

"So we didn't die together after all," Ralof said jokingly.

A little smile tugged at the corners of Mira's mouth, but she had seen too much death and suffering that day and she was sure that she would never be the same again.

"So…" Ralof continued once he realized that Mira was not going to answer. "A spellsword, huh?'

"Spellsword?" Mira asked confused.

"Spellsword, warrior- or battle-mage, basically someone who is capable of both handling weapons other than daggers and magic," Ralof explained.

Mira shrugged. "I can handle weapons a little and I know spells, but only two; I make up on the lack of knowledge by using both. Where are we headed now? And with now I mean after we've eaten something."

Ralof took the bread from Mira before answering her question. "My sister Gerdur owns a mill in Riverwood; we can stay there for a while. And one more thing: I wouldn't have made it without your help today. Thank you."

Mira shrugged it off. "No problem, we would both have been dead without each other."

"You know you should go to Windhelm and join the fight to free Skyrim. You've seen the true face of the Empire here, today," Ralof said.

"I'll think about it," Mira answered. I wouldn't dream of it, she thought. She had seen enough death and suffering for an entire human life.

On the way Ralof told Mira about Bleak Falls Barrow and how it used to scare him when he was younger. Mira just listened to him; she did not care about what he said as much as she cared about something to keep her from thinking about Helgen. The next stop the two people made during their journey was at the Guardian Stones; three stones that gave people with their blessing the ability to learn certain skills a little faster. Ralof encouraged Mira to have a closer look at the stones and Mira decided that it wouldn't hurt to have a look at them.

When she walked up to the stones and stood in the middle of them one specific stone almost seemed to call to her; it was the stone to her right that was decorated with the picture of a warrior. Mira walked closer and slowly ran her fingers over the lines that formed the picture on the stone. To her surprise the decorations on the stone lit up with a bright blue light that sent warmth and strength through her weakened body and her broken mind. The feeling of the cool stone under her fingers seemed to heal something inside of her that had broken that day… something Mira thought she had lost forever that day in the burning city.

"A warrior," Ralof said. "May those stars lead you to glory."

Mira sighed and pulled her hand back before looking at Ralof. The expression on Mira's face, one of surprise and happiness, made the male Nord laugh. Soon Mira found herself laughing too, even though there was no reason for it, but it felt good to laugh, so she did not try to stop herself from it.

It was Ralof who broke the silence again, once they got closer to Riverwood. "Remember this isn't Stormcloak territory; if we are ahead of the news of Helgen we should be fine, as long as we don't do anything stupid. Just let me do the talking, all right?"

* * *

They reached Riverwood in the late afternoon. The village looked calm and people were calm and clearly not aware of what had happened not far away from their village. Most people were finishing their jobs and getting ready to have dinner with their family or friends. The thought of that made Mira feel lonely; she missed her family and friends.

"Looks like no one here knows what has happened in Helgen. Gerdur should be working at the mill," Ralof said.

The woman at the mill happily greeted Ralof. "Brother, it's good to see you, but is it safe for you to be here? We heard Ulfric had been captured."

"Yes," Ralof answered. "But we're fine now. Let's go somewhere we can talk."

Mira listened while Ralof told his sister about how they were captured, the dragon attack and how Mira saved his life. Then they discussed what should happen next and where everyone should go. When it started to get dark they had finally decided that Mira should travel to Whiterun and that Ralof would join the rebellion once again. 'But come inside now," Gerdur said. "It is getting late and it is easy to get lost when it is dark, all of this can wait until tomorrow."

Mira gladly accepted the offer, she realized that the last time she had slept in a real bed had been eight days ago, but the sleep would not come to her that night. "Ralof, that dragon… was it on your side?"

Ralof shook his head. "Hardly, not even Ulfric could get a dragon on our side, but lucky for us it attacked when it did… I wasn't exactly looking forward to getting a shave from the Imperial headsman."

Mira laughed. "And do you really think I should join up with Ulfric Stormcloak?"

"Just like any true son or daughter of Skyrim should, if you ask me. He will also know more about why the dragon attacked Helgen."

"Do you really think so?"

Ralof thought about the question for a while before he finally answered. "Well… maybe not, but I can assure you that he will get to the bottom of it."

Mira nodded. "I will think about joining up."

It was not long after that before she noticed that Ralof was asleep, but instead of trying to get some sleep herself Mira got up and went outside. It was a cold night, but the cold did not bother Mira; her Nord blood made her resistant to the cold. While she walked away from the city she thought about everything that had happened that day. She had been close to death more than once, she had seen people die… and she had killed people herself. Although the thought was unpleasant it did not really bother Mira anymore; it had happened and it could not be changed and didn't all heroes in stories kill at least one person? The last thought made Mira laugh at herself. "But I'm not a hero, I am simply a girl who ran away from her home and killed people to survive."

Mira was still wondering how she could have adapted to the events of that day so quickly when she returned to Gerdur's house, she thought that the blessing of the Warrior Stone had something to do with it.

* * *

Mira awoke early in the morning and to find Ralof and his sister were already awake. "I want to leave as early as possible," Mira said. "So I will have time to find a place to sleep in the city and maybe I could look around, find a job and someone who can teach me more about using weapons."

Gerdur nodded. "I have some supplies for you to take with you, if you think you will need them. If you want to sell your things you should go to the Riverwood Trader, Lucan will buy and sell almost everything and he can give you directions or names if you are looking for something specific."

"Thank you, both of you," Mira said. She was ready to leave the house, but she hesitated for a moment. "I'll see you when I joined up with Ulfric," she told Ralof and then she left the house to visit the Riverwood Trader.

When she entered the shop Mira heard two people arguing about something, but they both got quiet once they noticed her. "What was that all about?" Mira asked the man, she assumed he was Lucan, the owner of the store. "Did something happen?"

"Eh, yes… We did have a bit of a break in… We still have plenty to sell though; the robbers were only after one thing. It was an ornament of solid gold in the shape of a dragon's claw. If you can get if back for us I promise there will be gold in it."

"I will keep an eye open," Mira said, knowing that she could use the gold. "But in the meanwhile I just want to trade some things… Do you have any spell books?"

"I might have a few, but if you want to learn more about magic you should visit the College of Winterhold."

Mira made sure that she would remember that name. "I will take them. What will you give me for those?"

Lucan studied the armor and weapons that Mira had put down in front of him. "Three spell books seem fair."

"Four," Mira said. "And the other spells for this," she took of the necklace that she had been wearing since she left her home. The necklace was enchanted to enable the wearer to cast more spells, because it added to the magicka of the wearer.

Lucan's reaction told Mira that the necklace was worth way more than a few basic spell books, but she didn't care; it had been a present from the man she was supposed to marry and the only reason she had worn it was because it was useful. "That sounds like we have a deal."

Mira smiled. "Good to hear. Could you tell me how I have to travel to get to Whiterun?"

"Just cross the bridge and head north if you want to take a shortcut, otherwise you should follow the path once you crossed the bridge and you will see the city when you are over the hill."

Mira decided to follow the road to avoid running into wild animals, bandits or anything else that might be dangerous and she reached the city at the end of the day, when the sunset colored the sky bright red and orange, like the dragon's fire in Helgen had been. She shook her head and tried to focus on how the city looked instead, but she couldn't seem to get the thought of the dragon out of her head.

"The city is closed for the night and it will stay closed with the dragons about," one of the guards said.

"When will the city be open again?"

"In the morning for official business, if you are just here to visit the city you will have to wait longer."

"I will come back tomorrow, then," Mira answered. Although the thought of having to spend the night outside did not appeal to her she left anyway. After wandering around for about an hour Mira decided to have a look at the spell books she had bought and she started practicing a spell to conjure a familiar. Mira focused on the image of a wolf, raised her hands and released the energy that she had built up. In front of her appeared a ghostly wolf, but disappeared again after a few seconds, so Mira continued practicing until she managed to conjure a familiar for a longer time.

Mira spent some time watching the familiar chase its tail and run around while she ate some of the supplies that Gerdur had given her. "What should we do next?" Mira asked the familiar, making it look up at her. "It will be a while until we can enter the city, but what should we do once we have told the jarl about Riverwood? I have nowhere to go, no one to go to…"

The familiar cocked its head and looked at Mira almost curious.

"Finding a place to spend the night would be a good start, don't you think?" When the familiar kept staring at her Mira continued. "It looks like it is going to rain and I don't really have a lot of clothes so I don't want my clothes to get wet. I think I saw a cave when I went here, it shouldn't be too far away" while she spoke Mira started petting the familiar, but she quickly pulled her hand back when the familiar yelped and dissolved into the air. She stood up and conjured the creature once again, because its light blue glow lit the way just enough for Mira to see where she went.

She found the cave and was getting ready for the night when the familiar ran away from her and into a part of the cave that Mira had not noticed until that moment. Mira remembered what she was taught about conjuration; bound conjured creatures would stay around the person who conjured them, unless an enemy was nearby. She quickly drew her swords and followed her familiar to find the wolf fighting two people, a woman who had her back turned to Mira and a man. Mira sneaked up on the woman until she was close enough to attack, but when she readied herself to swing one of the swords at the woman's neck the man attacked her. He moved faster than Mira thought was possible and he cast a spell at her that she had never seen or heard of before; a spell that seemed to drain her life essence. Instead of actually attacking her, the man kept casting the spell until Mira was on the ground, hardly able to move and completely defenseless.

"Look what we have here… it doesn't happen too often that our meal comes to us. Were you just being reckless or did you get lost, girl? Not like it matters anymore," the man kneeled down next to Mira and bit down into her upper arm.

Mira would have screamed if she had been able to, but she could only pray that the pain would stop soon. She was on the edge of unconsciousness when her prayers were answered; she was hardly aware of how the two creatures were killed, but she noticed how someone bent over her, inspecting her body.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here," Mira heard a female voice say, just before she completely passed out.

* * *

"You should have left her there, Aela; she has no place here," the man's voice was the first thing Mira became aware of. "And soon she will be one of them."

"We can cure her, Vilkas; the shrine of Talos is just outside the doors of Jorrvaskr," Mira recognized the voice of the person who had saved her from the creatures in the cave. "I could not have left her there, she is just a child."

"Exactly, she won't be able to repay us for saving her life, not even if she wanted to."

"I don't expect her to repay anything. I chose to safe her; it's not like she asked me to."

"That may be so, but she still doesn't belong here; she is not one of us."

"Since when do the Companions refuse to safe lives if they can, Vilkas?"

"Since no one has paid us to rescue someone; we were paid to kill those vampires."

The Aela sighed. "This is not about money, you know; the Companions have always been about honor. I would never forgive myself if I would leave a child to die or worse if I could also safe her."

"Fine, go ahead, safe the child and leave her here until she can get back to wherever she came from, but don't get me involved in it," after those words Mira heard how the man stood up and walked out of the room.

"No need to pretend you're still unconscious, girl," the Aela said. "Don't mind Vilkas, he is not too fond of strangers it's nothing personal."

"How did you know I was awake?" Mira asked while she tried to get up.

Aela ignored the question and continued talking instead. "Those vampires casted draining spells on you and they fed from you, so you have most likely been infected with Sanguinare Vampiris. You should be fine if you visit the Shrine of Talos within the next two days though. I will now leave you alone so you can rest, or if you feel well enough you can come upstairs to eat something and visit the Shrine."

Now she was finally alone and more or less safe wondered about what exactly had happened between the moment she entered the cave and the moment she woke up here. Her curiosity got the best of her and Mira decided to go upstairs to find out if someone had answers for her. She found Aela sitting at the table and took a seat next to the woman.

"I see you're doing better," the woman said. "Do you want to eat something?"

"I'm not hungry," Mira answered. "I came here because I'd like to know what happened… before I woke up."

Aela smiled. "Ah, I can understand that, but there is not much to tell. After I killed those vampires I took you here to recover; that was less than a day ago. That is all you have to know."

Although Aela seemed to think that there was no need to talk anymore the silence made Mira uneasy, so she decided to ask another question. "You said something about a Shrine of Talos. What was that about?"

"Shrines cure all diseases and confer a blessing, so if you are infected by the vampires it will take the infection away," Aela said. "It is way easier to get than a potion to cure diseases. I can show you the way if you want to."

"There's no need to; I will find it on my own and once I've been there I think I will go into the city to look around."

It was impossible not to find the Shrine of Talos, which was next to the stairs that led up to Jorrvaskr. Mira ran her fingers over the material of the Shrine and to her surprise she felt better right away.

Mira asked one of the guards to go to the jarl and tell him about Riverwood, giving herself more time to spend in the city. When she returned to Jorrvaskr at the end of the day she was greeted like she belonged there, much to her surprise.

"So you will be staying, huh?" Mira recognized the voice of the person Aela had called Vilkas.

Mira just stared at the man in surprise, wondering when that decision had been made.

Vilkas smirked when he saw her reaction. "Or so Aela says. She saved your life, as you already know, and she thinks your service will be a fine way to repay us, but if you don't think you can handle it…"

"I can handle it," Mira answered hatefully; pride had always been her weak spot and she hated it when people tried to bring her down.

"I bet you won't keep up for three months."

"Damn you to Oblivion, I would beat you in a fight before you could even draw your weapon."

"That are some big words for someone as small as you," Vilkas sneered. "Now why don't you take my sword to the Skyforge, whelp? Be careful though; it's probably worth more than you are."


	3. Hunting the hunter

Six weeks passed between the moment that Mira joined the companions and the moment that she returned form Dustman's Cairn. The girl had spent most of her time going after bandits, beasts that caused trouble and people that had been taken prisoner and when she was not working she was training with her Shield-Siblings. It was because of her dedication that the companions had decided to let her join the circle so soon after joining them.

Upon returning Mira found Vilkas in front of Jorrvaskr. "We've been awaiting your return," he told Mira.

It crossed her mind to ask him why she was supposed to care, since everyone knew she and Vilkas did not exactly get along, but she decided to go with it this time since he had said 'we' instead of 'I'. "Why were you waiting for me?"

"Come," Vilkas simply answered. "Follow me."

Mira followed him to the backyard, where the members of the Circle were waiting for her.

"Brothers and sisters of the Circle," Kodlak started. "Today we welcome a new soul into our mortal fold. This woman has endured, has challenged and has shown her valor. Who will speak for her?"

"I stand witness to the courage of the soul before us," Farkas said.

"Would you raise your shield in her defense?" Kodlak asked.

"I would stand at her back, that the world might never overtake us."

"And would you raise your sword in her honor?"

"It stands ready to meet the blood of her foes," Farkas answered without hesitation.

"And would you raise a mug in her name?"

That question made Mira chuckle.

"I would lead the song of triumph as our mead hall reveled in her stories."

"Then the judgment of this Circle is complete. Her heart beats with fury and courage that have united the Companions since the days of the distant green summers. Let it beat with ours; that the mountains may echo and our enemies may tremble at the call."

"It shall be so," everyone said.

"Well girl, you're one of us now," Kodlak said to Mira. "I trust you won't disappoint."

Mira slowly nodded, not exactly sure of what she should say. "I won't," she finally answered, but she knew it clearly showed that she doubted whether she really would not disappoint anyone.

When all the other members of the Circle had gone inside Skjor was still outside, looking at her.

"What's it?" Mira asked.

"Follow me to the Underforge; Aela and I have something prepared for you," he said. "Consider it a present to celebrate that you are now part of the circle. Come inside."

Inside what Skjor had called the Underforge Mira found a werewolf, she assumed it was Aela since Skjor had mentioned that he and Aela had something for her, waiting for her.

"We do this in secret, because Kodlak is too busy trying to throw away this gift we've been granted," Skjor explained. "He thinks we've been cursed, but we've been blessed. How can something that gives this kind of prowess be a curse? So we take matters into our own hands. To reach the heights of the Companions, you must join with us in the shared blood of the wolf. Are you prepared to join your spirit with the beast world, friend?"

Mira thought about his question; really thought about it. The thought of the possibility of being as powerful as Skjor claimed she would be scared her as much as it appealed to her, but what really made her doubt whether or not she would agree was the transformation. Even though Skjor called it a blessing there had to be something more to it; nothing like this could just be good without any consequences. Mira decided that is was worth giving a try, because she did not know whether she would be given another chance. "I'm ready."

"Very well," Skjor said. He took a dagger and walked toward Aela, grabbing her from behind and cutting her arm, letting the werewolf's blood fill the basin in the middle of the Underforge. "Drink."

Mira looked at the werewolf's blood in front of her. Even though she had ran into vampires and nearly turned into one of them a while back the blood did not appeal to her. It was only because of the two people waiting for her to act that Mira drank. "I think I'm feeling sick," she muttered.

Skjor laughed. "Most do the first time, but I would not complain about feeling sick just yet…"

Mira left the Underforge, wondering what Skjor meant when a sudden pain in her chest forced her to her knees. She was trying to get up when the pain seemed to spread through her body, leaving her powerless and yet she started to feel stronger than she had ever been before as her body was forced into a new shape. Mira let out a roar that could be heard throughout the whole city, she was sure about that. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was someone running toward her with a weapon drawn.

* * *

"Are you awake?" Mira recognized Aela's voice. "I was starting to think you might never come back. Yours was not an easy transformation, but you're still alive, so congratulations."

Mira groaned and rubbed her temples. "What in Oblivion just happened?"

Aela laughed. "You were born into the pack, sister. I almost envy you. That first time is always the most… intense. You gave us even more trouble than Farkas did at his first turning."

More trouble than Farkas? Mira thought, that should have been quite something then; she knew how strong the man was. "So I'm a werewolf now."

"You have the blood of the wolf in you. You'll need to build up your strength before you can call on it again, though. Just be careful where you do it; some cowards in this land can't stand the sight of glory before them."

"What _exactly_ does it mean to be a werewolf?" Mira asked; the question had been bothering her since Skjor had asked her if she was ready to become one, but she had not gotten the answer yet.

"Nothing, until you choose to use it. Then, well… you got a taste. You're stronger, faster. It doesn't last long, though. The blood of your foes can sustain you… _if_ you are willing to feed. We should go back now; I would have prepared something to celebrate your place in the pack, but Vilkas said he wanted to see you as soon as possible, because he has a job for you."

Mira muttered something inappropriate about what Vilkas could do with his jobs, but she agreed to return to Whiterun and hear him out.

* * *

"Now I'm back, what do you want from me?" Mira asked.

"Why so hostile, whelp?" Vilkas asked like he had done nothing wrong.

"Don't you call me that again, or I swear I will kill you while you sleep."

Vilkas snorted. "Don't even think about it; you'll fail anyway."

"Damn it Vilkas, have I not proven myself enough in the past weeks?"

"You've done nothing special since you've been here, whelp. Now, if you just hear me out you might get a chance to change that, though. A beast is seen around the village of Falkreath and the people fear it might attack soon, now it's your task to take care of it."

Mira gave Vilkas a short nod and started to walk away.

"Mira," Vilkas called after her.

Mira didn't answer; she just stopped walking to make clear that she heard him.

"Be careful, we think it might be… one of our kind."

"I'll keep it in mind," Mira said before walking away, toward Whiterun's stables, to find a carriage that would take her to Falkreath.

"So, buddy, where do you think we should start?" Mira asked the familiar she had conjured, just in case the beast she was looking for would be around. "Maybe we should ask around if anyone has seen this… whatever we're looking for. What would be a good place to start? Do you think the guards could give me some answers, or should I give it a try at the inn?" Mira decided to ask her questions to one of the guards. "Excuse me, I'm sent here to take care of a beast roaming around, could you tell me anything about it?"

The guard shook his head. "If you are looking for the animal that roams the place you should come back later; we just finished investigating a murder that happened recently."

"What happened?" Mira asked.

"We arrested a man for savagely killing a little girl, I think his name was Sinding or something like that; but he won't be a problem anymore; he's in jail now."

"Okay, well… thank you for your time. Would you mind if I talk to this guy? It'll just be for a minute, he is… a good friend."

The guard studied Mira for a few seconds; he decided that there could not be any harm in letting this girl talk to a prisoner for just a few minutes. "I don't see why anyone would call someone like him a friend, but okay. I will take you there; you will have five minutes, not more."

The guard led Mira to Falkreath's jail and closed the door behind her. "Remember; you only have five minutes and then you're leaving. He's there."

Mira walked up to the cell the guard had pointed out, where she waited until the man walked up to her. "Need something? Or did you just come to gawk at the monster?" he asked. He did not seem hostile though, he almost seemed… regretful.

"Sinding? Why exactly are you imprisoned here?" Mira asked; of course she knew the story, but she did not know the details.

"A little girl is dead because of me," Sinding answered. "Believe me, it wasn't anything I ever intended to do. I just… lost control. I tried to tell them, but none of them believed me…"

Mira did not know why, but she believed the man; he simply didn't look or acted like a murderer and he sounded like he sincerely regretted what he had done.

"It's all on account of this blasted ring."

That caught Mira's attention. "What ring? What are you talking about?"

"This is the ring of Hircine. I was told it could let me control my transformations. Perhaps it used to, but I'll never know. Hircine didn't care for my taking it, and threw a curse on it. I put it on… and the changes just came to me. I could never guess when. It would be at the worst times. Like… with the little girl…"

"What kind of transformations are we talking about here?" Mira's voice sounded sharp when she asked the question, even though she felt sorry for the man in front of her. Vilkas had told her that he thought they were dealing with someone of 'their kind' and if this man was what Mira though he was solving the problem of the beast roaming the woods around Falkreath could be easier than she had thought it would be.

"I don't suppose there's a point in keeping it a secret if I'm going to die in here anyway. I'm sure you've heard of men who shift to beasts under the influence of the moons. I am one of them; a werewolf. It's my secret and my shame. That's why I wanted the ring… it was said to give men like me control. Now I may look like a man, but I still feel the animal inside of me, as strong as ever."

Mira had heard that before. She had heard Vilkas talking to Kodlak when she had been looking for the Harbinger a few days after she had arrived at Jorrvaskr for the first time. Aela and Skjor had told her the same; thoughts of the hunt were always present, but as far as Mira knew the Companions did not have any problems controlling it. "What will you do now?" Mira finally asked.

Sinding sighed. "I've been looking for a way to appease Hircine. There is a certain beast in these lands. It's large, majestic. It is said that Hircine will commune with whoever slays it. I tracked it into these woods, but then I had my… accident with the child. I want to beg his forgiveness and give him back the ring, but while I'm stuck in here the beast wanders free."

Mira knew who Hircine was, of course she knew; Aela and Skjor had told her about the blessing the Daedric Lord of the Hunt had given to the companions, so she decided to ask another question. "What made you attack the little girl?"

Mira immediately regretted her decision when she saw the look on Sinding's face. "I had just come into Falkreath. They needed some help working the mill, and I thought that would be something safe. Something I could do. When I saw the little girl, I was just… I could feel it coming on. I could taste the… I needed to hunt. But this pitiful, limited body wasn't meant for hunting; slow, no claws, weak, mashing teeth for chewing cud. I held in my rage as long as I could, but it boiled inside of me. She looked so fragile; a helpless prey. And then… I… I feel terrible about what happened, about what I did. It would probably be best for everyone if I just went away."

"I will take the ring to Hircine." Mira shocked herself with that statement, but she did not feel the need to take back her words; Sinding obviously felt bad for what he had done and Mira had a feeling that helping him would be worth it.

"Oh my," Singing said sounding surprised, but grateful, maybe even hopeful. "You would do this for me? Here, take it. I don't want anything to do with this wretched thing anymore. Seek out the beast; he wanders these woods. Bring him down and… well; the Lord of the Hunt should smile on you. I wish you luck, but you should leave here while I still have my skin. Should our paths cross again, I will remember your kindness. Farewell."

Mira left him after he had spoken those words. The guard let her out after checking on the prisoner, but he pointed out the ring on her finger. Mira gave him a sad smile. "My friend gave it to me; he said it was so I would remember him, you know, just in case he would die in there."

When the guard had left Mira could not help laughing at his stupidity; people were so easy to fool when you looked young and innocent. The sudden realization of what that thought had meant scared Mira. She was not like that, it was not her way of thinking, she was sure it was one of the effects of the ring and with that thought in the back of her head she ran off into the woods, following the smell that stood out the most in the woods. She ran as fast as she could on all fours… Then it hit her; four. She had not even noticed the change coming to her; there had been no pain, no clear sign of it just like the first time. She had also not blacked out or lost control over herself in any way, but she figured out that was because she was already hunting. In fact she was aching to continue the hunt at that moment.

Mira found the beast Sinding had been talking about within half an hour. She had turned back to her human form by the time she had found it and she had used her bow and arrows to take it down. It had only taken her one shot in the beast's eye; Aela had taught Mira well.

The girl walked around the body once and was about to leave when she noticed the ghostly animal standing in front of her.

"Well met, hunter," the animal said.

"So you are Hircine?" Mira asked.

"I am the spirit of hunt, just one glimpse of the glorious stalker that your kind calls Hircine."

"Will you remove the curse from this ring?" Mira asked, not wasting any time on useless conversation for she still felt the beast blood running through her veins, it still showed in the way hunting seemed to be the only thing on her mind.

"I may consider it, but first do a service for my glory," Hircine answered. "The one who stole this has fled to what he thinks is his sanctuary. Just as a bear climbs a tree to escape the hunt, but only ends up trapping himself. Seek out this rogue shifter. Tear the skin from his body, and make it an offering to me."

The thought of that alone made Mira feel sick. The memory of the man, regretful and helpless, locked up behind the bars of his cell was still too new; she knew she could never treat this person like an animal, in fact Mira doubted if she could ever treat any person that trusted her like that. "He's done me no wrong; I won't kill him," Mira answered. "Not now and not in a hundred years would I do such a thing to someone who trusts me."

"There is no retribution in the hunt. It is not vengeance I seek, but the blood course of a living hunt. There are others who would gladly accept my favor. They will hunt him while you delay; your choice," those were the last words Mira heard from Hircine, or the thing that represented him, before he disappeared. He left Mira, who was still in possession of the ring that made her blood boil, longing for a prey to chase. A prey whose heartbeat would quicken once it realized it could not win from her, its warm blood flowing over her skin, dripping down her chin once she tore her prey's throat out.

"You want a living hunt, Hircine? Well, I will get you one you are not going to forget anytime soon..."

* * *

Even though Mira had killed the beast in the early morning the last light of the day had long made place for Tamriel's beautiful moons by the time Mira found the place where Sinding was supposed to be hiding. It had not been too far from where she had met Hircine, but the lack of transformations had not granted her the sharp senses she had when she hunted the beast and the thought of the hunt had made it hard for her to think clearly. Finally Mira entered the 'sanctuary' of the person she was supposed to kill.

Inside the cave the first thing Mira saw was a wounded Khajiit hunter and a dead body of what she supposed was another hunter.

"Has the Bloodmoon called you, fellow hunter?" the Khajiit hunter asked.

Instead of answering his question Mira asked a question of her own. "What happened here?"

"The prey is strong; stronger than the hunters, but more will come. Bring him down, for the glory of Lord Hircine," those were the Khajiit's last words before he died.

Mira wandered further into the cave, adoring the plants that grew there and the overall peaceful sight of the place under the red sky. It was at that moment that she heard a familiar voice speak to her.

"Never thought I'd see you again," the man said sounding surprised, but worried.

Mira turned around and when she did not find the source of the voice on the ground she looked up. The sight of the werewolf standing there; much higher than where Mira was, the rocks, pine trees and the Bloodmoon in the red sky behind him, took Mira's breath away. It was the kind of sight that only appeared in tales and songs and yet Mira saw it here in front of her. "I was told to kill you," she said; her voice barely more than a whisper, but Mira knew the werewolf could hear her.

"And I would deserve it, wouldn't I? I can't stop you if that's what you want to do. Hircine is too powerful. But if you spare me, I can be a powerful ally to you. And I promise to never return to civilized life. I know now that I can't live among people."

Even though Mira had not known the man for long it hurt to hear him say those words. She had come to care about him in the short time that she had known him. "I will spare your life. I have never had the intention to kill you anyway, I already told Hircine so."

"Thank the gods. Now let's deal with these other hunters. We'll hunt together."

Mira could not keep herself from grinning. "We will send all of these hunters to Oblivion, so they can be with their beloved Hircine. I just need a moment…" Mira quickly stripped off her armor until she was in nothing more than her underwear and then she focused on the memories of that night in the Underforge, where she had been drinking Aela's blood, Mira focused on the thoughts of the hunt that had kept her busy while she was searching for this place and she thought about how she would take the hunters down now. She felt how the power built up inside her and forced her body into her beast form within seconds. She let out a roar; the hunt had begun and all the hunters should know it.

Somewhere far away Mira heard one of the hunters call out to the others: "We've been betrayed."

But instead of wasting time on caring about what the hunters said Mira ran toward the sound. She and Sinding brought the hunters down sometimes one, but often two or three at the time, they jumped the hunters and ripped out their throats, or they slashed across the hunters' chests until their ribcages were too torn to serve as protection for their vital organs. Mira even fed on their flesh and blood to remain in her beast form for a longer time. This continued until every one of the hunters was dead, most of them no longer recognizable as human.

"Looks like the last of the hunters is dead," Mira pointed out the obvious once she was back in her human form. She was almost naked and covered in blood, but she did not care.

"Thank you for your help. I will make my home here, away from anyone I might hurt," Sinding replied.

Mira sighed. "I guess that is it then. I will check on you every once in a while… if you want me to, of course and if you ever need company you can send me a message; the couriers always manage to find me sooner or later."

The werewolf looked at her. "It is very kind to offer it, but you should not risk your life for me. Killing one girl was bad enough… I can only imagine what I could have done to you if you would not have had that ring…"

"That last transformation was not the ring. In fact the ring would not have affected me at all if I had been human like that little girl in Falkreath."

Sinding seemed shocked by Mira's words. "If you are not human, then why did you wander into Falkreath just like that? Why did you look like you had no trouble holding back the beast at all? Someone as young as you are should not walk around with this curse."

"Because I didn't," Mira said. "I am a member of the Circle of the Companions; they pass on the beast blood to everyone in the Circle and as far as I know no one has ever had problems controlling themselves. To me this is a blessing, not a curse."

Sinding looked like he was struggling to find the right words before he finally spoke. "Then I will be looking forward to your return."

Mira smiled and gently touched the werewolf's arm, looking him in the eyes. "So will I. Please don't get yourself into trouble before I return… or after."

* * *

When Mira left the cave she found Hircine waiting for her, still in the form of the ghostly animal. "Well met again, hunter," he said.

To Mira's surprise Hircine did not sound angry, disappointed, or like she just killed some of the hunters that honored him. "I failed to bring down Sinding," Mira answered. "In fact I did not even try. I do not wish to please you, Daedra."

"So you may think," Hircine answered. "But by bringing down my other hunters you turned the chase inside out. And they were no base prey. You continue to amaze and impress. Go forth, with my blessing."

At the moment Hircine said that Mira noticed how the thoughts of the hunt seemed to fade; they made place for strength like she had never felt it before. In fact Mira felt like she could do anything at that very moment. So this is the effect the ring is supposed to have, Mira thought, sweet…

* * *

"Falkreath will not see the beast again," Mira said.

"Well, what was it? Was it really one of us?" Vilkas asked, to Mira's surprise he sounded impressed.

"Sort of, but he did not have the control we have… he will not return to Falkreath, though."

"You owe me a drink, Vilkas," Mira joked.

Vilkas handed Mira a tankard filled with mead. "To the whelp of the Circle," he said, grinning, but his grin faded when he saw the ring on Mira's finger. Vilkas grabbed the girl's wrist. "What's this? Where did you get that ring? You weren't wearing it when you left."

"A friend gave it to me," Mira answered. She tried to pull her hand back, but Vilkas was still holding her wrist tightly.

"Sure, a friend… Don't think you can fool me, Mira," Vilkas caught the girl's attention when he used her name instead of 'whelp'. "This ring is a Daedric artifact that belong to Hircine; the Daedric Prince of the Hunt; he is one of the sixteen Daedric Princes. Now where did you really get this ring?"

Mira started to tell the story about Sinding, how she met Hircine and the hunt, but she made sure to leave out how the details of how she had massacred the hunters in the cave, because she knew how Vilkas thought about the beast blood and hunting. It was almost an hour later when Mira finally finished the story with how Hircine had removed the curse from the ring and left it with her.

"So it is true," Vilkas said, he sounded serious and worried, much to Mira's surprise. "The Daedric Princes really give their artifacts to a champion… I would be careful with that ring if I were you; it is as dangerous as it is unique and Daedra are not to be trusted; not even if you are their champion… especially not if you are their champion."

"If I didn't know better I'd say you are jealous, Vilkas," Mira said.

The man shook his head. "I'm not jealous, whelp; just careful. I wouldn't want to touch that thing if it was the only way to safe my life."

"I see. I will be careful too, but I am not parting with this," Mira said while she ran a finger over the edges of the ring.


	4. Dragon slayer

**AproposGibbon Thanks :3**

* * *

The doors of Jorrvaskr swung open and the two hunters entered.

"Another job well done, Shield-Sister," Aela said.

"Ah yes," Mira answered. "But I still don't understand why the man has asked _us_ to retrieve that damned stone for him. Why did we go through all that trouble for a stone anyway?"

Aela laughed. "The job is not exactly suitable for mages and many of the guards seem scared of the ancient Nordic tombs. Now let me look at your arm."

"My arm is fine," Mira said, but the huntress knew better than that.

"I'd like to have a look at it anyway."

"Fine, go ahead. So how much did our… friend pay us to get the thing?"

"Five thousand," Aela replied while she started taking care of Mira's wounded arm.

"Five thousand septims," Mira yelled. "Is he insane? It's just a piece of stone."

"He probably is, but I think it is a fair price for the trouble we went through."

Mira snorted. "You mean those three bandits, a dozen of draugr and some spiders? Why was all of that needed to guard some stone anyway?"

"Keep in mind that that last draugr nearly cut off your arm, Mira," Aela chuckled. "The court wizard is the only one who can answer that question for you."

"Great," Mira growled. "Maybe I will go to Dragonsreach to drag the man into a Nordic tomb and leave him there with some draugr. He knew how much hunters hate being underground."

Aela laughed. "Go to bed, Mira."

Mira slept well that night, as well as was possible for a werewolf at least. She could still hear everything going on around her while she was asleep, but it didn't affect her dreams.

"Dragon!"

Mira was wide awake at the moment the shout tore through her peaceful dreams. It only took her seconds to get her armor on, grab her bow and arrows and run out into the hall, where she found Aela; also in her hunting armor and with her bow.

"You heard it too, didn't you?" the huntress asked.

"It came from outside, right? Is there…"

"No time for that now, let's get some others and see what we can do." Aela ran upstairs where other members of the Circle were still talking. "Farkas, Vilkas, Skjor, come with us, now."

The warriors did not ask questions, they simply followed Aela, who approached a female guard just outside Jorrvaskr. "Is there a dragon out there? Where is it?"

"They say it flew to the Western Watchtower," the guard replied. "Don't go there, it's a lost battle."

"Not as long as I'm still breathing," Aela replied and with those words the Companions left for the Western Watchtower.

* * *

Aela, Mira and the guards kept shooting arrows at the dragon until it was wounded and forced to land, then Farkas, Vilkas and Skjor attacked the beast with their swords while Aela kept shooting arrows and Mira used spells. When the dragon realized the ten people attacking it were clearly winning the battle it grabbed the person that was the closest to it, a guard, and threw him up into the air. Then the dragon started trying to bite Aela, who had come dangerously close to the beast.

Mira was about to release an arrow when the dragon got Aela and bit down into her shoulder. She lowered her bow in shock, but then brought it up again; she aimed for the dragon's eye, just like Aela had taught her, and released the arrow. The beast roared in pain and released Aela. Skjor used the moment to get to the huntress and get her away from the dragon, while Farkas did something that would have been any other person's death; he climbed on the neck of the dragon and brought his sword up. The dragon tried to throw Farkas off of its neck, but the warrior stood his ground. When Mira distracted the dragon with an ice spike Farkas took his chance and slammed his sword into the dragon's skull, ending the beast's life.

Farkas pulled his sword out of the dragon's head and walked over to where Vilkas and Mira were standing. "Well…" Mira said. "That was… interesting."

Farkas laughed, but Vilkas was staring at something that was happening behind Mira.

When she turned around Mira saw that the dragon's scales appeared to be burning, although there had been no fire anywhere near. "What in Oblivion…"

As the dragon was burning up Mira started to feel stronger. She remembered the stories her father had told her, but those had just been stories… right?

"I can't believe it," one of the guards said. "You're… Dragonborn."

"What? What do you mean? I… no, I can't be," Mira shook her head in denial. Before she had met and joined the Companions she would have loved to hear that, she had hoped to become a hero, a legend, but now. She was a hunter now and she did not want that to change.

"In the oldest tales, back from when there were still dragons at Skyrim, the Dragonborn would slay dragons and steal their power. That's what you did, isn't it; absorb the dragon's power."

Mira closed her eyes. "I don't know what just happened, all I know it that the thing burned up and that I feel stronger now," she rubbed her temples. Great, so now the guards knew it too, what would be next; all of Tamriel?

"There's only one way to find out. Try to shout, that would prove it. According to the old legends only the Dragonborn can shout the way the dragons do without training."

"This is insane," muttered Mira. "How am I supposed to know those shouts anyway?"

Vilkas decided to join the conversation there. "You got the Dragonstone for the wizard. If this stone was really about the dragons you would think that there would be something about shouts in those tombs…"

The word wall, of course, Mira thought wondering why she had not thought about that herself. As she had gotten closer to the wall there had been one word on her mind, the word had been fus. "This is insane," Mira repeated, but she decided to give it a try. "Fus," the guard Mira had been facing seemed to lose his balance for a few seconds, but recovered quickly. It remembered Mira of the dragon that had attacked Helgen; it had used something similar on the guards and on her.

"That was a shout," the guard said. "You should come with us to the jarl."

"This is insane, you are all insane."

"They are right, whelp; you should speak to the jarl," Vilkas pointed out.

"Stop calling me that," Mira snapped and then she turned to the guard. "I will go with you, but I won't stay long. I have things to do in Jorrvaskr."

The thundering sound was heard from somewhere east of Whiterun, the guards did not pay much attention to it, but Mira was sure she heard something different too. She heard words: Dovahkiin. She shook her head, dismissing it as a side effect of what happened at the Watchtower.

* * *

"If the Greybeards were really summoning you, you should go to High Hrothgar; summons of the Greybeards should not be denied, for it is a great honor," that was jarl Balgruuf the Greater's final advice to Mira.

"Who exactly are those Greybeards?"

"Ulfric Stormcloak should be able to answer that question; he has trained with them for years, that is if he is willing to answer the question of a Nord that has not sided with his Stormcloaks," the way jarl Balgruuf said the last word clearly showed what he thought of the Stormcloaks. "And from now on you will be Thane of Whiterun. Lydia will be your housecarl; she is waiting for you right there."

"Thank you, jarl Balgruuf. I will be going back you Jorrvaskr now, if I may?"

"Of course, I understand that it has been an exhausting day for you."

But going back to Jorrvaskr was the last thing on Mira's mind right now; there would be questions to answer and stories people would want to hear and Mira was not in the mood to tell stories at that moment. She smiles at her new housecarl, who was already waiting for her. "Hello Lydia, it's nice to meet you. I would love to stay and chat, but I've had a hard day and I need to think. Could you make your way to Jorrvaskr and tell the others that you will be my housecarl?"

"If that is what you want, my Thane," Lydia answered.

"Great, thank you. If they ask where I am tell them I might be gone for a day or two, but it won't be longer than that."

Mira made her way to the city gates walking, but as soon as she was outside Whiterun she ran. She ran until she was far enough from the city to make sure that no one could see her anymore before she finally let the tension in her body out. She threw her head up and howled at the sky before she ran, faster now.

Mira only realized where she had gone when she was in front of the cave. Bloated Man's Grotto; home to the werewolf she had helped out not too long ago. She sighed and then started to focus on her breathing, forcing back the beast blood until she was human again.

"I didn't think I would see you again so soon…"

"Neither did I, but I am glad to see you again."

Sinding laughed. "What brings you here this time?"

"I had a hard day… it's a long story, but I think we have some time." Mira told the werewolf about how she had killed the dragon and how she had been summoned by the Greybeards. "But I don't want to be a hero; I'm a hunter and I am happy this way."

Sinding rubbed his muzzle against Mira's cheek, making the girl laugh. "It will be okay, just give it some time. Maybe hunting under the night sky will help?"

Mira gladly accepted his offer, because it offered a chance to finally forget about the day. But while Mira expected to simply forget the day, the hunt offered much more; the wind through her fur gave Mira a sense of freedom she had not experienced in years, it satisfied a desire Mira didn't even know was there and it gave her new strength. Mira knew it had to be an effect of Hircine's ring and she quietly thanked the Daedric Prince of the Hunt for the great gift he had given her.

It was close to dawn when Mira and Sinding returned to Bloated Man's Grotto; they had chased their prey all the way to Hjaalmarch before they had finally caught it. Once inside the cave Mira forced the beast inside her away so she would change back to her human form. The moment the strength of her beast form left her body she almost felt sad.

"How do you do it?"

Mira turned around to Sinding, who had obviously been referring to the fact that Mira could change to her beast form and back whenever she wanted to. "I am not the beast; the beast is something that joins with me once I call upon it and leaves when I want it to. I don't know how I do that," Mira answered.

Sinding lowered his head, clearly disappointed that the answer did not help him out.

"I should be going back; my friends are probably getting worried." Mira hugged the werewolf and to her surprise he hugged her back, careful not to cut her with his claws. "I will visit you again as soon as I can. Stay safe."

"You too," Sinding answered.

The last thing Mira saw of the werewolf that night before she left was how he stood outside the cave, his hand was raised in a farewell that showed the doubt of not knowing when they would see each other again, _if_ they would see each other again.

* * *

"Where were you?" Vilkas voice was way too loud for Mira's senses that were even more sensitive than before, for some reason.

"You don't have to shout, Vilkas," she answered, doing little to keep her voice from betraying how tired she was after a night without any sleep.

"You don't leave your family like that without telling them where you are. You could have been captured by the Silver Hand for all we knew. Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"So now you care about me all of a sudden; now I decide that I need some time away from everyone who could find me," Mira snapped; she was not in the mood to argue with anyone at that moment.

"Of course we care about you, you are our Shield-Sister," Vilkas had lowered his voice now. "And I would never want a Shield-Sister to be captured by the Silver Hand… not even if that Shield-Sister is a whelp that has only been with us for three months," the man added the last part with a mischievous grin.

"Go to Oblivion," Mira said, before slamming the door to her room shut behind her.

The girl still heard Vilkas call out to her. "Little chance; I'm not the one carrying a Daedric artifact around wherever I go."

Mira slept, but it was a restless sleep. In her dreams she was in a thick fog talking to people she knew, whether it was by face, name, or in person, and they all seemed to feel the same; they seemed to have lost their way in the fog. The people told her about how they regretted the choices they had made during their life and how they were weary and lost. Mira was shocked when she saw the one person that had become like a father to her over the past two months; Kodlak, the Harbinger of the Companions was in that place, wherever it was.

Mira woke up with tears rolling down her cheeks. _Be aware, the World-Eater waits within the mist;_ those were the words her Harbinger had said in her dream. _And so in death, too late, I learn the truth – fed by war, so waxed the power of Alduin, World-Eater – wisdom now useless._ Those words had been said by another person; Ulfric Stormcloak, leader of the rebellion, had seemed so defeated, but all the people in that dream had.

"You seem distracted," Aela said. "What's bothering you, Shield-Sister?"

"Nothing, I just had a bad dream... and I can't seem to get it out of my head, it looked so… real."

"It was just a dream, Mira. Remember that," Aela said.

"I would doubt it, especially if you keep in mind what the whelp has been carrying around for the past weeks," Vilkas said, nearly making Mira jump.

"Damn it, Vilkas. How are you so good at sneaking?" Mira yelled.

"I was not sneaking. Aela is right; you seem very distracted."

"It's probably nothing," Mira said. "Just a bad dream, I will forget about it soon enough."

Mira turned out to be right about that she would forget it; by noon a fight against wild beasts that were causing trouble in Skyrim had made Mira forget about the dream. Inside the cave where the beasts had made their home Mira had found nearly 400 septims and some enchanted items that looked like they were worth studying.

* * *

"It is not every day that a mercenary comes here to practice the art of enchanting items," Farengar commented when Mira dropped the items on the arcane enchanter.

"I am going to disenchant," Mira answered. "And before I came to Skyrim I started studying magic, so I am not just a mercenary."

"Then you should consider joining the College of Winterhold."

"I've been told so before, but I prefer hunting and fighting over a college where nothing eventful happens. I would like to purchase some spell books from you, though," Mira had been studying the spell books she had bought in Riverwood and she had mastered them all except the spell to conjure a flame atronach. "And Farengar…"

"Yes?"

"Why can I conjure a familiar, but not an atronach? Is there a difference?"

"Now that's an interesting question to ask," the wizard answered, the beginning of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "Before I started studying dragons I was working on conjuration and summoning. I recently came up with a theory about it when I was studying dragon shouts."

"Well, tell me about it."

"I discovered that you need to know the meaning, the very essence, of a word of power before you can use a shout."

"I know, Farengar, I am the Dragonborn, remember?"

"Just let me finish, child," Farengar said. "The better you understand the meaning of a word of power, the more powerful the shout. I believe the same think should work for conjuring atronachs; to create a steady portal to a plane of Oblivion you should understand what the plane of Oblivion of your atronach is like. Once you have a steady portal a creature of the kind you want to summon should present itself to you and in turn to bringing it into this place they will fight for you for as long as you can sustain them."

"So are you saying that I should take a break from conjuring and study the planes of Oblivion?" Mira asked.

"You are a quick student, the college could use people like you."

Mira rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be smart and talented and beautiful and strong; I've heard it all before, but I honestly don't care. I'm doing what I like to do and I am happy, so why would I want to change anything about it?"

"You are Dragonborn, you should visit the Greybeards and study with them to learn how to shout," the wizard said.

"I am Dragonborn, so I know how to shout. I don't know what the Greybeards would want from me, but I do not believe that they can teach me anything I don't already know about how to use my shouts. But now you mention it I think something will change… I will hunt those dragons down until they are all dead; every single one of them."

Mira saw how the wizard's eyes widened in surprise. "No… No, you can't kill them. There is so much that we could still learn about them, I didn't even have a chance to study one yet."

His reaction made Mira sigh in frustration. "It will really take me longer than a day to hunt them down, Farengar. I think it will take me weeks, if not months, to track even one of them down, but who else will take care of that problem? Just don't tell anyone."

Mira spent the rest of the day in Dragonsreach, studying the enchantments on the items and trying to place similar enchantments on daggers and rings and by the time she left, she left with a dozen of enchanted items that were good enough to sell. "I should start enchanting items for people; should make quite a lot of coin," Mira said.

Farengar laughed. "It takes some skill and experience before you can sell your services, child."

"I suppose you're right, but I think my Shield-Siblings would gladly put those to good use while I will be chasing dragons."


	5. Promises

The summer days seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Mira spent the days working on jobs and tracking down dragons and most of the nights she was found hunting in the woods around the city of Whiterun, even though Kodlak had told her not to go out as often.

The thought of visiting Sinding often crossed her mind, but she never got to do it and so the second half of the summer passed without any visits to her friend. On the nights when the moons shone bright and full over the city and the woods, lighting the way of everyone who dared to roam the lands at that time, Mira felt the beast blood call to her, but she never gave in to it on those night. Sometimes, when the wind came from the south, Mira thought she could hear Sinding's howls, but she dismissed it as her imagination and the lack of company during the few times she hunted in beast form.

Sometimes Mira envied Skjor and Aela, who also preferred to spend the nights chasing wild animals; the difference was that they had each other. They had asked Mira to join them several times, but she had always denied because the thought of hunting with others who used to hunt together for years made her uncomfortable. The reason of it was mostly because hunting in beast form with someone else was an intimate experience. It was intimate in a way that was different than anything Mira had ever experienced before in a way that was far from romantic or sexual.

But the lack of company during the nights she hunted was not the only thing that was bothering Mira; lately the call of the Greybeards had been on her mind almost all the time. She did not want to answer their summons yet, but she did want to know what it would mean to answer their summons and then perhaps she would think about visiting them. There was just one problem; the only person who could tell her about the Greybeards was the jarl of Windhelm and from what Mira had heard the man was not the type to help anyone who asked him to.

"I will be gone for a few days," Mira told Aela the night before she was leaving. "I need to talk to someone."

"Will you at least tell us where you are going?" the huntress asked. "So we will know who to kill when you don't come back in one piece."

Mira laughed. "Windhelm, I need to talk to the jarl."

* * *

Mira walked up to the throne of the jarl of Windhelm where she waited until the jarl would speak to her.

"Only the foolish or the courageous approach a jarl without summons…" jarl Ulfric said. "Do I know you?"

The arrogance, Mira thought, but she decided to hide her thoughts behind a sweet smile. "I believe we've already met."

"Is that so? Ah yes, you were with us at Helgen. Destined for the chopping block it I'm not mistaken…"

Was her testing her patience? Mira remembered that jarl Balgruuf had mentioned that Ulfric Stormcloak was not exactly fond of people who had not sided with him, but she had not expected this. "I helped Ralof escape. He said he'd vouch for me," Mira lifted her head just a little and looked the jarl of Windhelm in the eyes. She was pleased to see how jarl Ulfric's expression changed from slightly annoyed to surprise.

"Ralof's alive? I hope that's true; he's a damn good man," the jarl said. "But he has not returned yet, so I'll have to wait for his account. For now you should speak with Galmar. I'm always looking for able fighters; not everyone can say they made it out of Helgen. Seems we're all branded villains these days. As long as your criminal past stays in the past and you'll fight for me with honor and integrity we'll welcome you into our ranks."

"I'm no more a criminal than you are," Mira snapped. Did this man know nothing about respect? Even though he was a jarl he did not have the right to act this disrespectful.

Jarl Ulfric seemed slightly amused by that statement and Mira's anger. "Then why were you at Helgen?"

Mira snorted, her anger made her forget about the respect she was supposed to have for this man at that moment. "If you would have paid attention you would have heard them say I was not on the list. I have never stolen and before Helgen I had never killed anyone. The only thing I can think of that I have possibly done wrong before I came to Skyrim was running away from home because my parents wanted me to get married to some Imperial milk drinker. I decided to come to Skyrim because it was my father's homeland and I had hoped to make a living here. And let me tell you something: I would have succeeded without any trouble if those Imperials had not been out there looking for _you_. I was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, but _you_ murdered the high king. So tell me; who of us is the criminal here?"

"You are speaking of matters you don't know anything about, child," jarl Ulfric said. To Mira's surprise the man still sounded perfectly calm.

"So are you," she answered. "And besides, I am not here to join your fight; I'm here because I have questions and I was told that you can answer them. And I'm not a child."

"If you do not wish to join us I recommend that you leave right now, before the guards will make you. If you are willing to join you should talk to Galmar, like I already told you."

Mira let out a soft growl, but she walked toward Galmar to discuss joining the Stormcloaks. I never thought the day would come that I would join this war, Mira thought.

"Helgen huh," Galmar said once Mira told him about her plans to join and how she escaped Helgen with Ralof. "Ulfric told us quite the story. If you made it through all that you're likely worth something to me, but first tell me; why do you want to fight for Skyrim and are you willing to die for it?"

Mira sighed. "If I didn't, do you really think I would still be here?"

"All right, but before I can put you to use I need to know how much you can take. I have a little test for you."

Mira was sure that test was not exactly a 'little' test, as Galmar had put it, but she figured it could not be much worse than what she had gone through while she was retrieving the dragonstone. "I can handle anything you throw at me."

Galmar laughed. "That's what I like to hear, so long as you can back up those words with steel."

"Do I get a bonus for backing it up with skyforge steel?" Mira joked. She decided that she liked the second-in-command, unlike Ulfric Stormcloak.

"Are you saying you wield skyforge steel? Even if the Gray-Manes would share their skyforge steel with you it would not be purchased for a small prize."

"Who said I purchased it?" Mira replied laughing. "Upon being let into the Circle you get one for free. Now what am I supposed to kill?"

"I'm sending you to Serpentstone Island; if you survive, you pass, but if you die… well, you weren't going to be much use to me anyway," Galmar chuckled.

"What's at Serpentstone Island?"

"Something about the place attracts ice wraith. You kill one out there and I have all the proof I need about you."

"Does every recruit have to do this?" Mira asked.

"Not everyone," Galmar answered. "Just the ones I'm not sure about. This will prove your abilities, but more importantly; it will prove your commitment."

"Then I'm off to kill the thing; I will be back soon."

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Galmar said, somehow managing to not make that sound like he doubted Mira's abilities.

* * *

"Damn… you…" Mira panted. She raised her battleaxe once again, showing the ice wraith that she was not done with it just jet.

The creature made a hissing sound just before it attacked. Mira swung her axe and she felt how it connected with the ice wraith's body, but not before the creature bit down in her leg.

Mira cried out in pain and fell to her knees; her battleaxe and the ice wraith were forgotten for the moment. She let out another wail when she tried to get up, but fell back. "You'll pay for that," the Mira hissed before firing two fire bolts at the ice wraith. While the creature was distracted Mira dragged herself to her battleaxe, getting ready to defend herself again.

The ice wraith attacked again, but this time Mira swung the battleaxe fast enough, ending the creature's life once and for all. She dragged herself to the remains of the ice wraith to put its teeth and some of its other remains in the satchel she carried with her. One she had finished that Mira collapsed, the fight had drained too much of her energy to do anything anymore.

When she finally found the strength to get up to take care of her injuries, mostly the wound caused by the ice wraith's bite, Mira had lost track of the time. The wound was still bleeding and the flesh around the bite looked wrong, but it did not look deadly. When she realized that Mira somehow found the strength to get to her feet and, using her battleaxe for support, walk all the way back to Winterhold.

Once she reached the village it did not take too long until someone came to help her. That was when Mira passed out.

The girl awoke later that day. She awoke to the nice, warm feeling of a healing spell being cast on her. "How long has it been?" Mira asked to no one in particular.

"About three hours since you passed out," an unfamiliar voice answered. "You're lucky that the people asked the college for assistance this time, or you would have probably lost your leg."

Mira sat up and looked at the woman who was still casting healing spells. The mage was a Breton who was wearing clothes that looked like they belonged to the College of Winterhold.

"Just a few more and I'll be done," the woman said.

"Are you from the college?" the moment she asked the question Mira realized how stupid that sounded; of course this woman was from the college.

"Yes," the woman answered. "My name is Colette and I train people in restoration magic."

Mira laughed. "Mind sharing some spells with me, or selling spell books to me? No one I know sells any decent healing spells and as you can see I need to learn some…"

Colette looked surprised. "Are you saying you want to learn more about restoration magic?"

"Of course, if I would not be able to heal myself when I'm wounded then all other skills are of no use. It's nice to be able to cast destruction and conjuration spells, but they are not too useful if you don't have the strength to cast them."

Colette seemed pleased with this answer. "I cannot teach you now, but if you are interested in learning about any kind of magic you should really consider joining the college."

"I know, I know. And I will, but not today. Today I need to get back to any of the cities so I can hire a carriage to get me to Windhelm."

* * *

Mira arrived in Whiterun a day later; she had paid a man who had gone to the city to sell his goods, because Mira had decided that there was no harm in letting her shield-siblings know that she was still more or less alive.

**_Middas 27_****_th_****_ of Sun's Dusk 7.49 pm_**

_From now on I will keep a journal; I should have something to tell my parents if I go home after all._

_Twelve weeks have passed since I first left my home. In those twelve weeks I have become part of the circle of the Companions and champion of Hircine, I have discovered that I am what people call the dragonborn and I have been summoned by the Greybeards, I have saved a werewolf's life and befriended this werewolf and I got involved in the civil war going on here in Skyrim. Now I'm writing about the civil war anyway; it has been six days since I killed the ice wraith. I have been with the Companions since I left Winterhold, but I will return to Windhelm soon._

_My leg has been healing well, although it is still hard to stand or walk for a long time Aela thinks my injury will be healed enough to fight again within another week; an amazingly short time for an injury that should have cost me my leg._

_Yesterday I have been to Bloated Man's Grotto yesterday, but Sinding was nowhere to be found. I picked up his scent, but it seems old. I'm worried about him; he would not have left the place without letting me know. What if he is in danger?_

"Give her another day, Ulfric. I am sure she will return soon."

"You've said that for the past three days now, Galmar."

Mira chuckled when she heard the men argue about what she thought was her return; neither of them had noticed her yet.

"She's not coming back, Galmar," Ulfric said after a long silence.

"Is that what you think?" Mira asked, now just outside the room where the second-in-command and jarl Ulfric always discussed their plans.

"You took your time, girl," jarl Ulfric said.

"I'm glad to see you too," Mira replied; she didn't care that her sarcasm would be seen as a lack of respect.

"You owe me a drink," Galmar told Ulfric before he turned to Mira. "Are you ready to take the oath, girl?"

Mira considered his question for a moment; she knew that there would not be a way back after taking the oath, before she decided that she could use the money and that this was possibly the only way to get the answer to some of her question. "Yes."

"Good, repeat after me. I do swear my blood and honor to the service of Ulfric Stormcloak…"

"I do swear my blood and honor to the service of Ulfric Stormcloak," Mira repeated absent minded.

"Jarl of Windhelm and true high king of Skyrim."

"Jarl of Windhelm and true high king of Skyrim," Mira found herself wondering how someone could be so unoriginal.

"As Talos is my witness, may this oath bind me to death and beyond…"

"As Talos is my witness, may this oath bind me to death and beyond," like the gods would care about oaths sworn by a girl, Mira thought.

"…even to my lord as to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms."

"…even to my lord as to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms," bad choice of words, my friend, Mira thought, my lord is Hircine.

"All hail the Stormcloaks, the true sons and daughters of Skyrim!"

"All hail the Stormcloaks, the true sons and daughters of Skyrim."

"Welcome to our ranks, unblooded," Galmar said.

"Unblooded?" Mira asked confused.

"It's your rank; everyone who decides to join our cause starts with this rank."

"Now that is done I would like to finish discussing our next move with Galmar, if you don't mind," jarl Ulfric's words seemed friendly, but the way he said it made clear that it was a command. "I expect you to report here exactly two weeks from now, don't be late. Until then you can do as you see fit."

* * *

Spending time as she saw fit meant to Mira that she would spend time with the Companions; her shield-siblings. Unlike the Stormcloaks Mira had joined them because she wanted to, not because she needed to.

"Aela, the week I had to wait has passed already," Mira whined. "Please, please, give me something to do; you know I can't stand sitting still for weeks."

The huntress smiled. "I was about to ask you to join me. I have found a Silver Hand hideout and I was thinking about showing them that we cannot be hunted down like wild beasts. Skjor already went ahead; he left about an hour ago. What do you think?"

Mira smiled. "That sounds good, shield-sister. I say: let's go."

The run to the fort of the Silver Hand did not take them as long as Mira had thought it would be and they reached the place just before midnight. The few people guarding the place on the outside did not prove a challenge to a huntress and a werewolf; Aela shot the guards from a distance while Mira fought them one on two, three or four at a time. Within minutes they were inside the ford.

"The cowards must have locked the place down when Skjor came running in."

Mira knew the huntress was referring to the spikes that kept people from entering the place; the spikes were only meant to slow people down. They were opened with the pull chain next to the doorway.

Mira paused when she noticed a small room to the side with a dead werewolf's body inside.

"Is there a dead one in there?" Aela asked, although she already knew the answer. "I already thought so. Not one we know by the smell of it. Some people can't separate the beast from themselves; this poor bastard could have been anyone."

_Could have been anyone…_ Mira forced herself to think about something else. She would have known his smell.

The Companions cleared the place quickly, luring members of the Silver Hand into their own deadly traps or sneaking up on them, killing them before they knew what was going on.

Mira felt the strength leave her body not long after they had killed the last Silver Hand in the fort's prison, seconds later her body changed back into its original form. The girl walked around the dungeon, inspecting the dead bodies in the cells; most corpses were the bodies of werewolves that had clearly been tortured. The sight of it made Mira angry; she clenched her dagger, the only weapon she had brought with her this time. She would make the Silver Hand pay for their crimes.

"Mira, there's nothing we can do for those guys now. Let's keep moving," Aela said.

Mira nodded, but froze when she heard shuffling sounds from somewhere to her right; one of the werewolves was very much alive, despite some cuts and scratches on its body.

"Mira?"

Mira's eyes grew wide when she recognized the werewolf. "Sinding…"

The werewolf grabbed the bars of the door and looked up at Mira.

"Hold on, I'm gonna get you out of there." Mira found lockpicks on one of the Silver Hand's bodies and hurried back to Sinding. The locks of the cells were not too hard to pick and Mira had opened the cell in less than a minute. "Gods, Sinding, what have they done to you?"

Sinding studied the cuts on his body. "They're from when they dragged me here… I think. It's nothing."

Mira eyed the werewolf up, not sure whether she believed him or not. "Are you sure you're okay? I swear I'll make them pay for this…"

Sinding pulled her in an embrace. "I am now. Don't worry about me; we'll get out of here once you've finished whatever you are doing here and everything will be fine. I should just stay away from Helgen for a while… I guess."

Mira let Sinding hold her for just a few seconds before she walked away. "You should get out of here right now. Aela and I know what we are doing."

"And you think I don't?"

"I just want to be sure you're safe, okay? It will be easier to focus when I don't have to worry about you."

There was a short silence. "I guess I owe you a favor, but I will only go this time. The next time I'll fight."

Mira smiled at Sinding, she noticed how his yellow eyes appeared to be silver around the pupils. "Thank you. Stay safe."

"You too," Sinding left with those words, and with him the feeling of safety left Mira.

"You knew this one?" Aela asked.

"He is the one I told you guys about. I'm just glad we found him alive, but enough about that; let's keep going."

* * *

"The bastards… Somehow they managed to kill Skjor," Aela sounded calm, but at that moment the huntress looked like she was completely lost. "He was one of the strongest we had, but numbers can overwhelm. He should _not_ have come without a shield-brother. Get out of here. I'm going to make sure we got the last of them, and see if there's any information to be gotten from the bodies. You and I have work to do; the Silver Hand will tremble at our sight."

Mira could only imagine how Aela felt; finding her friend in the fort's dungeons had fueled her own hatred toward the Silver Hand and Skjor's death was yet another reason to hate them. "What's our first target?"

Aela smirked. "Good that you're so eager. I've caught wind that one of the brighter Silver Hand has been sniffing around Whiterun. If you can sneak into their camp and steal their plans, we'll have the advantage."

Mira nodded. "I'll meet you at Jorrvaskr in two days."

**A/N I feel like this chapter seems kinda... forced. I promise the next one will be better though.**


	6. The battle for Whiterun

"Tell me again why we're wasting time and dwindling resources chasing a legend? We don't even know it exists."

"The jarls are upset. They don't all support you."

"Damn the jarls."

Those were the first things Mira heard when she entered the Palace of the Kings to report to jarl Ulfric. That's not exactly the way a high king should speak, is it? Mira thought.

"They demand the Moot."

"And damn the Moot! We should risk letting those milkdrinkers put Torygg's woman on the throne? She'll hand Skyrim over to the elves on a silver plate," jarl Ulfric sounded like he was upset about something.

"All the more reason then," Galmar said. "The crown would legitimize your claim."

"A crown doesn't make a king."

"No, but this one…"

"If it even exists," the jarl was clearly getting impatient now.

"It exists. And it'll be the symbol of the righteousness of our cause. Think about it; the jagged crown! It heralds back to a time before jarls and moots. Back to the time when a king was a king because his enemies fell before him and his people rose because they loved him. Skyrim needs that king. You will be that king, Ulfric. You must be."

Mira was standing next to the two people now, she was listening to their conversation, but she remained quiet.

"You're certain you've found it?" jarl Ulfric asked.

"When have I ever been false with you?"

"Fine, I'll send the unblooded here with you. Fancy a crawl through a moldering dungeon to see if you can't stir up Galmar's jagged crown?"

"It'll be there. You'll see."

Mira sighed. "It wouldn't be the first time I am sent to retrieve some legendary item, so I'll go. But I won't fight another draugr deathlord that is most likely guarding the thing." The thought of fighting a deathlord was enough to make Mira feel sick; the last time she had encountered one had been in Bleak Falls Barrow when she had been looking for the dragonstone with Aela. They had managed to beat the thing, but it had taken hours and a lot of skill to defeat the thing without getting cut in pieces.

**_Tirdas 3_****_d_****_ of Evening Star 3.24 pm_**

_Ulfric has sent me out to retrieve the jagged crown with Galmar and a couple of other soldiers. To my surprise Ralof was with us too. I had not seen him since I left Riverwood, but it's good to know that he has made his way back to Windhelm without too much trouble. At the moment I'm on my way to bring the crown back to Ulfric._

_I was right about the draugr deathlord guarding the crown and with all of the soldiers around I could not use my beast form to fight it. I guess that is not important though; we defeated it and I got out alive. Sadly some of the men and women did not…_

* * *

Mira walked through the doors of the Palace of the Kings once again to report to jarl Ulfric Stormcloak and once again she walked into the jarl having an argument with his housecarl.

"Ulfric won't give us a straight answer," Galmar said.

"He's a true Nord; he'll come around."

"Don't be so sure of that. We've intercepted couriers from Solitude; the emperor's putting a great deal of pressure on Whiterun."

"And what would you have me do?" jarl Ulfric asked. He sounded like he was not too interested in this matter.

"If he's not with us, he's against us."

"He knows that. They all know that."

"How long are you going to wait?"

Galmar has a point, Mira thought.

"You think I need to send Balgruuf a stronger message."

"If by message you mean shoving a sword through his gullet."

Mira flinched. She had killed people; she was almost getting used to it, but killing the jarl that had named her a thane was not something Mira was hoping to do.

"Taking his city and leaving him in disgrace would make a more powerful statement, don't you think?"

"So we're ready to start this war in earnest then?"

"Soon," jarl Ulfric answered. "Very soon now."

"I still say you should take them all like you did deadking Torygg."

"Torygg was merely a message to the other jarls. Whoever we replace him with will need the support of our armies."

"We're ready when you are."

Mira rolled her eyes. Sometimes it annoyed her that the Stormcloaks followed this man around like a dog follows its owner.

"Things hinge on Whiterun. If we can take the city without bloodshed all the better, but if not…"

"The people are behind you," Galmar assured the jarl.

"Many I fear still need convincing," when he said those words jarl Ulfric looked Mira in the eyes.

If you only knew, Mira thought.

"Then let them die with their false kings."

Jarl Ulfric sighed. "We've been soldiers for a long time; we know the price of freedom. The people are still weighing things in their hearts."

"What's left of Skyrim to wager?"

"They have families to think of."

"How many of their sons and daughters follow your banner? We are their families."

"Well put, friend… Tell me, Galmar, why do you fight for me?"

"I'd follow you into the depths of Oblivion, you know that," Galmar said, clearly worried about the jarl's question, and perhaps he was also scared that his jarl was starting to doubt him.

"Yes, but why do you fight? If not for me, what then?"

"I'll die before the elves dictate the fates of men. Are we not one in this?"

Ulfric considered this question for a while before answering it. "I fight for the men I've held in my arms, dying on foreign soil. I fight for their wives and children, whose names I heard whispered in their last breaths. I fight for we few who did come home, only to find our country full of strangers wearing familiar faces. I fight for my people impoverished to pay the debts of an empire too weak to rule them, yet brands them criminals for wanting to rule themselves! I fight so that all the fighting I've already done hasn't been for nothing. I fight… because I must."

In the moment of silence that followed Mira wondered if she had been wrong about the jarl; perhaps he did have a reason for fighting this war, a reason other than wanting power.

"You give voice to what we all feel, Ulfric. And that's why you will be high king. But they day words are enough, will be the day when soldiers like us are no longer needed."

"I would gladly retire from the world were such a day to dawn."

"Aye, but in the meantime we have a war to plan."

* * *

Although the sky was clear and the morning air was cool the city of Whiterun was hardly visible from the top of the hill. Smoke surrounded the city; smoke caused by the catapults that fired burning objects. Mira patted her horse's neck. "Come on girl, we can get a little closer."

As they got closer to the battlefield the air got warm, dry and filled with thick smoke. The smoke did not only make it harder to see, but it made breathing harder and made Mira's enhanced senses as good as useless.

When Mira finally joined the other soldiers Galmar was just starting his speech. "This is it, men," Galmar yelled over the sounds of the battlefield. "They say that out cause is false and that we are nothing more than thieves, thugs and murderers! But no; we are farmers, we are craftsmen! We are sons and daughters of shopkeepers, maid servants and soldiers! We are the sons and daughters of Skyrim! And we have come this far because our cause is true, because we fight as one and because our hearts are bursting with anger! What we do here today, we do for our country; for all the true Nords of Skyrim!"

The soldier shouted agreements and cheered; clearly eager to fight this battle.

"Whiterun's walls are tall, but they are old and crumbling, like the empire whose legions line them. They've barricades to block us, but we'll tear through them and the Imperials behind them!"

More cheers came from the crowd.

"Our objective is the drawbridge. If we can find a way to drop it, the city will be ours. Talos guide you."

The barricades were destroyed within seconds, but the Imperials and guards of Whiterun proved to be more of a challenge than Mira had expected, especially since she refused to kill anyone other than the Imperial soldiers. While the other Stormcloaks fought Mira's aim was to drop the drawbridge. She didn't stop to fight anyone who got in her way; she simply used her Thu'um to push them aside.

By the time Mira finally managed to drop the drawbridge most Imperials and guards outside Whiterun were dead or dying and there was no one left to keep the Stormcloaks from entering the city. Mira teamed up with Ralof once they entered the city; they got each other's back and together they fought anyone who tried to take either of them down, just like at Helgen. Mira didn't doubt that she would not have survived long after entering the city if Ralof had not been with her.

Mira planted her battleaxe in an Imperial's neck just before he attacked Ralof.

Ralof turned around and smiled at Mira. "Thanks."

"No problem. Get down."

Ralof looked confused, but ducked just in time to avoid getting beheaded by another Imperial soldier.

"Fus!" Mira shouted, throwing the soldier back. "I'd keep paying attention if I were you."

The Stormcloaks fought their way to Dragonsreach together, but it still took them over two hours to get there and by the time they arrived there was only a handful of them left.

Mira looked around at the few surviving soldiers. "Is this really everything we have left?" she asked, shocked.

Ralof looked at the girl and nodded, he too seemed somewhat sad about the loss of so many lives.

"Just another reason to keep going," Galmar said. Then he pushed the doors to Dragonsreach open and went inside.

Three guards were waiting for them just inside the palace and another three were guarding jarl Balgruuf. The jarl had clearly chosen his most capable warriors to protect him.

Mira heard Irileth shout at jarl Balgruuf. "Stay back, lord!"

"I'll be damned if I let this rabble take my city without raising my own sword," jarl Balgruuf answered.

While Galmar and Ralof attacked jarl Balgruuf, Mira engaged in a one against one fight with Irileth; she had never really liked the woman and her attitude and this was the perfect chance to find out who of them was the strongest. The other Stormcloaks kept their distance, knowing that the fights were fair this way.

Mira dodged Irileth's first attack and blocked the second, before aiming for the woman's neck. She missed the neck, but her blade cut into Irileth's shoulder.

When the elf looked at Mira there was nothing but hatred in her eyes. "You'll pay for that."

Mira took two steps back. "Make me," she smirked at woman, who started another attack. "Fus!" the force of the shout made the Irileth stumble back. "You are losing this fight and you know it. If you surrender now I will consider sparing your life."

"Never," Irileth answered.

Only seconds later jarl Balgruuf the Greater called out: "Enough! That's enough. I surrender… I surrender. Peace! Everyone stand down. That's an order. Stand down."

Irileth lowered her sword, but did nothing to hide the way she felt about giving up.

Mira looked at the woman with a smug grin, but that grin faded quickly when she looked around. Apart from the jarl, his housecarl, Galmar, Ralof, a few Stormcloaks and Mira herself everyone was dead. The floor and walls of Dragonsreach were painted red with the blood of the soldiers whose corpses were barely recognizable as human anymore. It was at that moment that Mira realized why she had not wanted to join the war; many people had lost their life that day, because they wanted to defend something they believed in. And worst of all was that all those people had friends, family, maybe even wives and children waiting for them to come home.

"Jarl Balgruuf!" everyone looked up when someone shouted across the room.

It was the jarl who finally broke the silence. "Vignar Gray-Mane! Your family was noticeably absent from the walls. Now I know why. Wouldn't a dagger in the back have sufficed?"

"You think this is personal?" Vignar asked. "The empire has no place in Skyrim… not anymore. And you? You have no place in Whiterun anymore."

"A convenient position to hold now," jarl Balgruuf said. "But mark my words, old man, in the days to come Ulfric will spread his rebellion thin. And what then? We need the empire, as much as it needs us. We Nords are the empire. Our blood built it, our blood sustains it! You of all people should know that."

"If this was my empire, I'd be able to worship whoever I damned well pleased. You wish to see an empire Talos? Without its soul? We should be fighting those witch-elves, not bending knee to them. The emperor is nothing more than a puppet of the Thalmor. Skyrim needs a high king who will fight for her, and Whiterun needs a jarl who will do the same."

"Tell me, Vignar, was all this worth it? How many of those corpses lining our streets wear the faces of men who once called you friend? What about their families?"

"Enough!" Galmar, who clearly had enough of listening to the arguing of the two men, shouted. "Both of you! There is a burning city out there that needs a government."

"He's right," Vignar said. "Galmar, come, let us restore order."

"This isn't over," jarl Balgruuf hissed. "You hear me you old fool? This isn't over!"

Mira and Ralof had not said a word since jarl Balgruuf had surrendered. Ralof had been listening to the conversation, but Mira had been staring at the blood stained floor of Dragonsreach, feeling bad about everything that had happened.

Jarl Balgruuf turned to the girl. "And you. A Stormcloak? I'd thought better of you. You'll all come to regret this day."

Mira looked up at jarl Balgruuf, but she didn't answer.

Galmar walked over to Ralof and Mira. "Get over to Windhelm. Tell Ulfric of our victory here."

Ralof turned to Mira. "I think I killed more Imperials than you. I was counting," he said jokingly.

"You weren't," Mira answered, smiling a little at Ralof's attempt to cheer her up. "But if you're right I'll beat you next time. Can we stay here for the night and head back tomorrow? I want to visit my friends."

"Sounds good; it will give us time to take care of the wounded men and see if there are any survivors outside."

* * *

Mira grabbed one of the tankards with mead that were on the table in front of her. "Damn Ulfric to Oblivion," she growled before drinking all of the mead at once and slamming the tankard down on the table, making the people close to her look up.

"What did he do?" Aela asked amused.

"He used me as his errand boy, or girl, or whatever," Mira answered. "I, a fine mercenary and the dragonborn, sent to deliver a declaration of war to the jarl of Windhelm, because the man who claims himself future high king is too cowardly to do so!" Mira threw her empty tankard across the room and against the wall. She knew she was drawing attention to them, but she didn't care.

"Don't you love her bright mood, Aela?" Vilkas asked laughing.

"Shut up," Mira answered while she grabbed a new tankard and filled it with mead again.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I said shut up, Vilkas. I can handle this stuff just fine; I know when I've had enough and by that time I will stop."

"You already drank more than anyone here would drink on a regular day, whelp. And you're a kid."

"I am _not_ a kid," Mira said. "Do you want me to prove it?"

Vilkas grinned. "I don't fight drunken girls."

"Damn you, Vilkas."

"We've already been damned since the beast blood was given to the Companions for the first time."

Mira sighed. She didn't feel like starting this again; she and Vilkas had never agreed on the value of the beast blood and Mira knew they would never agree on it either. "I'm going to bed," she muttered.

* * *

"What in Oblivion have you done? You look terrible."

"Thanks, Ralof," Mira said. "And if you really want to know what I've done; we, the Companions, drank more than half of the mead in Jorrvaskr in one night. You'll just have to believe me when I say that's a lot."

Ralof laughed. "From what I've heard the men want to celebrate our victory once we're back in Windhelm..."

"Great." Mira sighed; she wasn't looking forward to the ride back with a throbbing headache.


	7. A cure

**_Fredas 6_****_th_****_ of Evening Star 2.37 am_**

_I helped Ulfric and the Stormcloaks capture Whiterun. I should have refused to help them on this one; I was the thane of Whiterun, I should protect the people instead of fight them. I can only pray that they divines will forgive me. I will be on my way now; I'm done with the people celebrating our victory, I need to think._

Mira had managed to get away from the Palace of the Kings unnoticed around 10 pm and had recently entered Whiterun hold. She ran as fast as her paws could carry her, enjoying the feeling of the wind through her fur. Moments like this one seemed to be the only time that she knew real peace. The rare moments she spent in her beast form allowed her to clear her mind and focus only on the hunt; her strength and speed, the way the heartbeat of her prey got faster as it realized it was being chased. She could have caught the stag way back, just outside Windhelm, but she enjoyed the chase it too much. She could smell the fear of the animal; she sensed that it was getting tired. That was the moment she jumped it, quickly tore its throat and thus ended its life.

It was a good kill, even though the blood of the stag dripped down Mira's chin and onto her chest. She let out an annoyed growl when she realized she would have to wash the blood off before she could return to Whiterun, where her shield-siblings would be waiting for her. But whoever was waiting for her did not matter at that moment. The night was not yet over and Mira was not even close to done with hunting, the Silver Hand always managed to find a new hideout close to Whiterun and they were the most interesting prey of all and maybe, just maybe, she would find the plans Aela was looking for.

* * *

Mira woke up, not knowing where she was or what time it was, the last thing she could recall was picking up the scent of silver, healing potions and garlic; a combination that was typical for the Silver Hand, after that her instincts had taken over. Mira pushed herself up to a sitting position, only to find out that every muscle in her body was sore and that she had a terrible headache… again. The girl groaned and lay back again, silently cursing herself because she had learned nothing from the last time she had been at Jorrvaskr, two nights ago now.

"Just how much did you drink last night?"

Mira sighed, she should have known. "That's none of your business, Sinding."

"If you decide to go out on a hunt and seek shelter here after slaughtering a few dozen of the Silver Hand's members, I think it is my business."

"I don't even remember, okay? Now since you seem to know I slaughtered those bastards, what else happened?"

Sinding chuckled. "You killed them, went here and collapsed after you changed back."

"Damn it, I should keep in mind that I don't use all my energy during a hunt," Mira muttered.

"You're right."

Mira glared at the werewolf, trying to resisting the urge to hit him, before she wandered deeper into the cave, she was sure she had seen a river there when she had been hunting down the people that were after Sinding.

Mira returned to the werewolf when she was finally finished washing the blood of her. She had put on a sapphire blue dress that she cut off just above her knees, so that the fabric would not get in her way, and the cloak that she had brought with her when she had left Winterhold. She sat down next to him, close to the fire. "You've never told me how you became… like this."

"Would you like to hear the story?"

"If you don't mind telling it," Mira had been curious about this from the moment she had been chasing the white stag in the woods near Falkreath, but she had never found the time to ask him.

"I got attacked by a wounded werewolf. By the time people came to help me I was already infected, or what you want to call it. If I have to believe what they said it was a miracle that I survived and fully recovered from it. I… I'd rather not go into detail… maybe later, but not now."

"It's fine, I understand."

Sinding sighed. "What I wouldn't do to be able to at least control this curse, even if it would just be every once in a while…"

Mira was quiet for a while before she finally answered, not quite convinced about whether she could follow up on what she was going to say. "I could try to… talk to him, I guess. I am his champion; he would listen to me,"

"You really don't have to do that, Mira. You have done so much for me already."

"I don't do it because I feel like I have to do it, Sinding; I do it because I want to do it."

The werewolf thought about Mira's words. "What did you have in mind?"

"I will talk to Hircine, I don't know how yet, but I'll find a way, and if he won't listen I will talk to Kodlak, our harbinger; he has been searching for a cure."

Sinding shook his head. "You don't understand…"

"What should I understand?"

"Nothing, never mind."

"I'll be taking my leave. I have to bring those plans to Aela and perhaps I'll get another job done before the day is over. Take care, because I can't promise I'll be there to help you out if you get caught again."

"You too."

* * *

"You have returned sooner than I expected shield-sister."

Mira smiled at the huntress. "I know, I… let's just say I didn't feel like repeating the night here at Jorrvaskr."

This made Aela laugh.

"And I have brought the plans you were looking for, I went out hunting."

"Ah, yes. It doesn't surprise me that you were the one to find them."

"What will we do next? I'm ready for another job if you have something I can do."

Aela frowned. "There is something. Kodlak wanted to talk to you… I don't know what it's about."

"Oh… okay. I'll just talk to him then." Mira was sure that he had found out about how she had been slaying the Silver Hand.

Mira walked down the stairs and found Kodlak in his room. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, I've been looking for you. Have a seat, youngling. I heard you've been busy of late," to Mira's surprise there was no judgment in the harbinger's voice, he was simply stating a fact.

"Aela and I work to avenge Skjor's death."

Kodlak nodded. "Your hearts are full of grief, and my own weeps at the loss of Skjor. But his death was avenged long ago. You have taken more lives than honor demanded. The cycle of retaliation may continue for some time."

Mira let out a heavy sigh, knowing that she would have to tell Kodlak about her own motives, which were not just revenging Skjor. "Revenging Skjor is not the only reason why I am still after them. They also hunted down another friend of mine and I they tried to kill Farkas when I was after the fragments of Wuuthrad with him. I wanted to show them that they cannot hunt us down like beasts just like that, but I think I got the point across."

Kodlak shook his head, this time clearly disapproving. "You have been granted great power, child; a power that is beyond any one of us. Know that this power is dangerous, especially for someone like you, who has not yet learned the difference between what you feel is right and what is in fact the right thing to do. In any case, I have a task for you. Have you heard the story of how we came to be werewolves?"

"Skjor used to tell me it is a blessing from Hircine, but Vilkas always said it was a curse laid upon the ancient Companions."

"Both are partly true, but you'll learn, though, that reality is often more complicated than most believers would tell you."

"So what is the truth?" Mira asked, not interested in hearing long stories at that moment.

"The Companions are nearly five thousand years old, but this matter of beast blood has only troubled us for a few hundred. One of my predecessors was a good, but short-sighted man. He made a bargain with the witches of Glenmoril Coven. If the Companions would hunt in the name of their lord, Hircine, they would be granted great power."

"And they became werewolves," Mira guessed.

"They did not believe the change would be permanent. The witches offered payment, like anyone else. But we had been deceived."

"But in the end you are more powerful now than you were back then."

Kodlak sighed. "The witches didn't lie, of course. But it's more than our bodies. The disease, you see, affects not just our bodies. It seeps into the spirit. Upon death, werewolves are claimed by Hircine for his Hunting Grounds. For some, this is a paradise. They want nothing more than to chase prey with their master for eternity. And that is their choice. But I am still a true Nord and I wish for Sovengarde as my spirit home."

"I understand where you are coming from. Is there a way to cure yourself?"

"That's what I've spent my twilight years trying to find out. And now I've found the answer; The witches' magic ensnared us, and only their magic can release us. They won't give it willingly, but we can extract their foul powers through force. I want you to seek them out. Go to their coven in the wilderness. Strike them down as a true warrior of the wild. And bring me their heads; the seats of their abilities. From there, we may begin to undo centuries of impurity."

Mira frowned. "I doubt whether Hircine will be happy about it, but I will do this."

"Thank you. Ysgramor's spirit will be with you, to restore the honor of his legacy."

* * *

Mira had talked a carriage driver into bringing her as close to the Glenmoril Coven as possible and she walked the last part. She was wearing the leather armor she had gotten from a dead bandit's body long ago. It had served her well, but it would no longer be needed, because she had paid Eorlund to craft the Companion's wolf armor for her. She had asked him to craft the armor out of a material that was a mixture of ebony and steel, to make it even stronger than the skyforge steel already was.

Upon entering the cave of the Glenmoril Coven Mira relied on shadows and rock formations that offered cover. She killed the first witch with a simple swing of her battleaxe and three of the others with a well-aimed arrow, but she decided to have some fun with the last one of the witches.

The head rolled over the rocky surface that formed the ground, ending up not too far from the feet of the witch. The creature's screech was deafening and distracted Mira for long enough to nearly be hit by a fireball.

"You damned…" Mira didn't finish the sentence when another fireball was cast at her; instead she leaped at the witch, engaging in close combat. But she soon realized that she had underestimated the witch; before Mira finally got the chance to end the creature's life her body was covered in cuts, but only a few were deep enough to be a burden.

When Mira was about to head for the exit of the cave something caught her eye. There, next to a bedroll and what was made to offer some shelter was a shrine nearly as long as Mira was tall. Even though she had never seen it before she somehow knew it was a shrine of Hircine. Even though it only made sense to find Skyrim's shrine of Hircine in a cave that belonged to people that worshipped the Daedric prince, it still surprised Mira.

"Well, how fortunate to find this here," she muttered. All she needed now was some form of sacrifice to summon Hircine from his plane of Oblivion. "Bear or wolf pelts, but there are no animals here. The hunt… a living hunt, perhaps, like… the witches," Mira smirked as she dragged the witch's body to the shrine to cover it with the blood of her last prey. Then she put her hands on the shrine.

The atmosphere changed instantly, the cold wet air in the dark cave seemed filled with energy now. "Well met again, my hunter-champion. What brings you to my shrine?"

"Lord Hircine, I need to ask you for a favor."

"You could just have asked me, hunter. I will always hear the prayers of my champion."

Mira sighed. "It's… something important to me. And I'm not sure if you'll like it, but… I need you to help Sinding control his transformations. Please. I promise I'll never ask anything else of you if you can do this for me."

"You ask me to help the one that stole my ring? I am not sure whether you are really brave or really naïve to think I would do this…"

Mira closed her eyes for a second before looking at the shrine again. "That is why I came to your shrine. I will do anything you ask of me, just… please, could you do this for me?"

"Anything you say?"

"Anything," Mira answered without a doubt.

"Then I suppose that there is no way of changing your mind about this matter. You have served me well, dragonborn. I know of all the times you hunted in my name, and all the times you hunted just for the sake of a living hunt. You have pleased me, and for this I will grant you a favor, but only one, so choose wisely."

Mira shook her head in disbelief; it could not be this easy. "I have told you what I would ask of you, lord Hircine. But I would like to know… what's the catch?"

The Daedra chuckled. "There is no catch, my hunter-champion. Now return to Jorrvaskr, your presence is needed there."


End file.
